I’ll describe a third of the 3 non-mulberry silks. Muga Silk: The pride of India, Magnificent Muga silk is known for its natural shimmering golden colour. Its production is confined to Assam, border areas of neighboring Northeastern states and Cooch Bihar in West Bengal. It is produced by the MUGA silkworms (Antheraea assamensis), which feed on Som and Sulu.
This golden yellow colour silk is prerogative of India. Muga silk was recognized as a protected geographical indication (GI) in 2007, and was granted a GI logo for trademark purposes in 2014. The logo has been registered with the Assam Science Technology and Environment Council. The most expensive of silks, MUGA is intrinsically woven into the cultural traditions of the people of Assam. The vibrant Sualkuchi sarees and mekhla-chaddars are the traditional items made from Muga silk. In recent times, fashion designers have found exciting prospects in using muga silk for developing new products and designs.
The use of MUGA yarn as a substitute for ‘zari’ in sarees is finding favor with reputed weavers.
Eri Silk also known as Endi or Errandi, Eri is a multivoltine silk spun from open-ended cocoons, unlike other varieties of silk.Eri silk is the product of the domesticated silkworm, Philosamia ricini that feeds mainly on castor and Kesseru leaves. Ericulture is a household activity practiced mainly for protein rich pupae, a delicacy for the tribal people in the North eastern states of India. Resultantly, the eri cocoons are open-mouthed and are spun. Eri silk is also produced in Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa . Elegantly designed eri shawls and chaddars are quite popular because of their thermal properties. They can be blended with cotton, wool, jute or even mulberry silk to create exotic fabrics for use in jackets, or suiting material, or for producing a variety of furnishings, making it an interior decorator’s delight.
Commercially speaking Silk can be classified into 2 categories
1. Mulbery silk
2. Non-mulbery silk
The bulk of the commercial silk produced in the world is mulberry silk. The figure is around around 85 % Mulberry silk comes from the silkworm, Bombyx mori L. which solely feeds on the leaves of mulberry plant. China is the largest mulbery sillk producer in the world followed at second place by India. In India, the major mulberry silk producing states are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir which together accounts for 92 % of country’s total mulberry raw silk production.
Mulberry Silk provides the shine and fluidity that is desired in every fabric. Styled to perfection, this fabric has a certain edge over the others in terms of quality, making it commercially successful. The pupae of the worm are used to design the fabric in a textile so that no mineral is observed. The fine designs and the fantastic styling gives the fabric a whole new look. Right from evening wear to sarees, this fabric has given the world a vast taste of designs and apparels.An interesting fact:
Silk becomes weak in water. Therefore, if silk is continuously kept in water it may erode and lose its shine and luster.
