Silk Balaclava - 7 items found

	Silk Balaclava for Winter Sking, Hiking, Motorcycling Motorcycle > Hats / Caps $11.99 Bids: 0 End time: 08-Sep-10 20:25:44 PDT
	SILK BALACLAVA UNDER HELMET WARMER WARM THERMAL Apparel & Merchandise > Other Apparel & Merchandise $8.99: $9.99 Bids: 0 End time: 09-Sep-10 19:27:37 PDT
	NEW SILK BALACLAVA HOOD MASK MOTORCYCLE SKI HELMET NWT Helmets > Other $11.99 Bids: 0 End time: 09-Sep-10 13:19:45 PDT
	BALACLAVA SYN SILK HELMET SNOWMOBILE ATV SHARK HJC MASK Motorcycle > Hats / Caps $6.50 Bids: 0 End time: 24-Sep-10 07:35:42 PDT
	Terramar Silk Balaclava Black Clothing > Men $14.23 Bids: 0 End time: 19-Sep-10 06:47:06 PDT
	Terramar Lightweight Balaclava - Silk For Men & Women Hats > Other $16.95 Bids: 0 End time: 09-Sep-10 15:18:30 PDT
	Silk Balaclava for Winter Sking, Hiking, Motorcycling Motorcycle > Hats / Caps $11.99 Bids: 3 End time: 14-Sep-10 08:02:18 PDT

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I wish to make neck tubes/balaclavas for outdoor pursuits in silk fabric. What would be the best silk to use?

Aug 18, 2007 by rhianc30 | Posted in Hobbies & Crafts

I feel silk is a cool breathable fabric for warm weather, and warm and comfortable in cold temperatures? I yearn to use this fabric as I think it would be better against the skin - but what type of silk would be the most practical for this purpose? Also can anyone tell me where I can find reasonably priced suppliers of silk cloth in the uk, preferably via internet? Thanks.

Silk is a spontaneous protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from cocoons made by the larvae of the silkworm Bombyx mori reared in restraint (sericulture). The shimmering appearance for which silk is prized comes from the fibers' triangular prism-like organize which allows silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles.

"Untamed silks" or tussah silks (also spelled "tasar") are produced by caterpillars other than the mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori). They are called "imprudent" as the silkworms cannot be artificially cultivated like Bombyx mori. A variety of disorderly silks have been known and used in China, India, and Europe from early times, although the go up of production has always been far smaller than that of cultivated silks. Aside from differences in colors and textures, they all diverge in one major aspect from the domesticated varieties: the cocoons that are gathered in the wild have usually already been damaged by the emerging moth before the cocoons are gathered, and thus the put thread that makes up the cocoon has been torn into shorter lengths. Commercially reared silkworm pupae are killed before the matured moths emerge by dipping them in boiling water or piercing them with a needle, thus allowing the whole cocoon to be unraveled as one unremitting thread. This allows a much stronger cloth to be woven from the silk. Wild silks also tend to be more burdensome to dye than silk from the cultivated silkworm.

Silks are produced by several other insects, but only the silk of moth caterpillars has been used for textile fabrication. There has been some research into other silks, which have differences at the molecular level. Silks are mainly produced by the larvae of insects with unalloyed metamorphosis, but also by some adult insects such as webspinners. Silk production is especially common in the Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants), and is sometimes inured to in nest construction. Other types of arthropod produce silk, most notably various arachnids such as spiders.