Silk Bedding
Pure silk has long been associated with luxury and is sometimes described as "the queen of fabrics" - a reference to its feminine softness and strength. 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 silk bed linen available more easily than ever before.
As well as the traditional silk sheets you can also buy modern style bedding such as silk duvet covers, comforters, bedspreads and pillow shams. With modern dyes and production methods a vast range of vibrant colours is available, the most popular including red, black, pink, blue and gold.
A real natural silk beding set isn't cheap, especially 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 cultivated silkworms. The silk "worm" is actually the larva (caterpillar) of the silkmoth Bombyx mori. This caterpillar lives almost entirely on mulberry leaves and during its pupal phase spins itself a cocoon of silk fibre. These fibrous cocoons are what silk is made out of; the fibres are harvested and processed to produce usable silk thread. There are various finished types of silk cloth including Chiffon, Crepe de Chine, Jacquard and Dupioni.
Silk production is believed to have originated in China between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago. Today it's also produced in other countries, with production mainly in the East. Because of the price of silk, a number of natural and artifical alternatives have been introduced over the years. Shiny fabrics sometimes sold as inexpensive alternatives to silk include cotton sateen and polyester satin.
Why Buy Silk?
So what's so good about silk? Why is it so highly valued and in such demand? Those are frequently asked questions.
Silk is popular in clothing and bedding partly because of its shimmering appearance and its smooth feel. However its advantages go deeper than that. Also important are its temperature controlling properties - natural silk is likely to remain comfortable in both warm and cool weather.
These thermal properties, especially desirable in materials used for bedding and clothing, are often missing from cheaper alternative fabrics.
Washing
The main drawback with silk is that it's a delicate fabric and needs to be washed very 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 on the cloth. Some also contain ingredients to enhance the look and feel of the fabric.