Question

describe the process of obtaining silk from cocoon

Answer 1

•  When the silk worm forms a covering around itself by secreting a protein through its head, this is called the cocoon stage. This is the most desirable stage for the silk producers. It is at this time that the cocoons are delivered to the factory by the farmer. These factories are called filature operations.

•  Once the cocoons reach the filature operations they are sorted by color, size, shape and texture. They usually range from white and yellow to grayish.

•  After the cocoons have been sorted, they have to be boiled in water, while they are still intact, for 5 minutes while they are being turned gently. They are then taken out of the water and a dissecting needle is used to start picking up the strands. Once a single strand is found that will come off easily it has to be wound around a pencil. This is how the cocoon is loosened so that it can be unwound in 1 continuous thread, which are collected into skeins. The process is called “reeling.”

•  Since the thread is too fine for commercial use, between 3 and 10 strands then have to be reeled together to produce the desired diameter of raw silk. This is known as “reeled silk.” It will take 3,000 cocoons to make just 1 pound of this type of silk.

This silk must then be reeled into skeens and packed into small bundles called books. These are then shipped to silk mills around the world.

Answer 2

From Cotton to Silk :

$\textbf{Step 1 }$:

Eggs of silk moth are stored carefully on strips of cloth or paper and sold to the silk moth farmers.

$\textbf{Step 2 }$:

The eggs are kept by the farmers under proper conditions till the caterpillars come out from the cocoons.

$\textbf{Step 3 }$:

The silk moth caterpillars are kept then kept in bamboo trays and fed on fresh mulberry leaves.

$\textbf{Step 4 }$:

When the caterpillars stops eating, they shifted to bamboo chambers provided with racks, twigs. Here, they spin cocoons.

$\textbf{Step 5 }$:

At the end of pupal stage, the moth cuts the cocoon and flies out.

$\textbf{Step 6}$:

The cocoons are then stored out according to their colours, size, shape, and texture.

$\textbf{Step 7}$:

The stored cocoons are collected and immersed in boiling water to kill the insect inside them.

$\textbf{Step 8 }$:

The cocoons are given a series of hot & cold immersions, to make them soft.

$\textbf{Step 9 }$:

The silk filaments are separated from the cocoons. This process is called reeling of the silk . The resulting fibre is known as raw silk, which can be dyed into various colours.

$\textbf{Step 10 }$:

The silk fibres are then spun to get silk threads.