Subtle, soft, and sensuous—silk is magical and is sometimes referred to as the queen of fibers.

Spun in cocoons by silkworms, the strands must be removed and gathered into skeins (a labor-intensive process called "reeling"). There are mainly two kinds of silk: mulberry and non-mulberry. Mulberry silk is spun by silkworms that are raised in captivity and fed an exclusive diet of mulberry leaves. Non-mulberry silk refers to silk that is spun in the wild by silkworms that feed on other types of leaves. Tussar (also spelled tasar or tussah) is one type of non-mulberry variety.

See the April/May 2013 issue to read the full article.