Silk Bedding
Pure Silk has long been associated with luxury, and what could be more luxurious than sleeping between silken bed sheets with silk pillow cases? Today the ability to buy online makes a greater range of silks available more easily than ever before and you can also buy modern style bedding such as silk duvet covers, comforters and pillow shams. Most colours are available, the most popular including red, black, pink and blue.
A real silk bed linen set isn't cheap, esepcially if you're buying for a king or queen size bed, but then the best of anything rarely is.
What Is Silk?
Pure silk is a totally natural product made from the cocoons of silkworms. It originated in China between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago and is now also produced in other countries, mainly in the East. Because of the price of silk, a number of artifical alternatives have been produced over the years.
Silk is popular in clothing and bedding because of its shimmering appearance, its smooth feel and its temperature controlling properties - it's comfortable in both warm and cool weather.
Satin
The term "satin" can be confusing - is it silk or isn't it? It certainly looks like silk, however this is a word where the usage appears to have changed over time.
An old dictionary of mine describes satin as "a closely woven silk". A more recent dictionary defines it a "a fabric of silk, rayon, etc closely woven... giving a smooth, glossy appearance".
So whereas "satin" once meant a form of silk, it is now used more widely to also include man-made fibres that look like silk. Make sure you know what you're buying.
Washing
The main drawback with silk is that it's a delicate fabric and needs to be washed carefully. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions - these usually call for hand washing at a low temperature. You can also buy special washing liquids designed to be gentle and enhance the look and feel of the fabric.