Recognizing
Real Silk
How do you know you are
buying authentic Thai silk and not the fake variety, which is made of
polyester? There are five basic ways to determine the answer: Consider
the cost, the weave, the sheen, the print and the burn test.
There is a big difference in price between the one hundred percent silk
products and imitation ones. Generally for a one hundred percent silk
item you should expect anywhere from 600 baht up, depending on the item.
The same thing in imitation silk will be priced anywhere from 100 Baht
up.
The weave is another area that will allow you to see the difference between
real silk and the imitation. Real silk is completely handmade using natural
fibre and therefore shows small faults or joins in the thread along the
warp and the weft. The imitation polyester, on the other hand, is a machine-made
fabric and has a perfect surface with no flaws or joins. This is one of
the best ways for those who don't know much about silk to check its authenticity.
Sheen is the another guideline, and a light test shows whether a fabric
is real or imitation. The one hundred percent Thai silk is made with one
color for the warp and one color for the weft. This is what gives Thai
silk its natural sheen and luster and it's what makes Thai silk so unique
in terms of color tones and blends. So, when you hold a piece of one hundred
percent silk up to the light the color will change in reaction to the
angle of light. With the imitation, no matter what angle you hold the
silk, the shine is the same.
Whether a fabric is real silk or imitation is also easy to determine by
looking at the print. One hundred percent Thai silk has the printed pattern
on one side, but only the outline of the print on the back side. If both
sides are held up to the light, only the full print side varies color.
The colors are not apparent on the back side. With an fake print, the
pattern and colors can be seen on one side while a plain color can be
seen on the other side.
As a last resort, there is the burn test. If you take a thread or two
of one hundred percent Thai silk and burn it, it leaves a fine ash and
smells like burnt hair. As soon as the flame is removed, the threads ceases
burning. When the imitation silk is lit, it drips, burns black smoke and
goes on burning after the flame is taken away.
Click here
for more information on real Thai silk.
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