In summer, silk has become the preferred material for clothing due to its unique comfort. When shopping, we often see products labeled "real silk", and many consumers also assume that this is high-quality mulberry silk. But in fact, not all materials labeled "real silk" are mulberry silk. In fact, there are various fiber materials on the market, such as silk, imitation silk, etc., which may be sold under the name of "real silk".
Silk, a material widely used in clothing, actually covers a variety of different fibers, such as mulberry silk, tussah silk, castor silk, and cassava silk. These are all protein fibers, among which silk fibroin is rich in amino acids that are beneficial to the skin and can help the metabolism of the lipid membrane on the skin surface. There are many types of silk fabrics, such as plain wrinkled satin (commonly used in pajamas and the most common silk fabric), georgette, double wrinkle, mulberry satin, electric spinning, and taffeta. Each fabric has its own unique feel and luster, and is therefore used in different occasions and purposes.
Silk, a masterpiece of silk spinning, is the result of the careful processing of defective cocoons and waste silk produced during the process of sericulture, silk making and silk weaving. Its count is usually as high as 50/2 to 240/2, showing a moist luster and soft feel. For this reason, silk has become an ideal choice for making light and soft high-end fabrics, and can also be processed into fine sewing silk and embroidery silk.
Due to the relatively high price of silk, imitation silk with chemical filament as the main raw material has gradually appeared on the market. The raw materials of these imitation silk products are mostly polyester fibers (i.e. polyester), and some products also use regenerated cellulose fibers such as viscose. However, the moisture absorption and breathability of such imitation silk products are generally poor. At present, there are a wide variety of silk products on the market, and it is difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake. It is common for chemical fibers to impersonate real silk. In fact, many silk products with extremely low prices are often made of imitation silk.
How to distinguish real and fake silk?
Professionals from Suzhou Fiber Inspection Institute pointed out that when buyers choose silk, they can use five practical methods to distinguish its authenticity.
First, visual observation
The surface luster of real silk presents a bright and soft characteristic, while although imitation silk is also bright, it lacks that soft luster.
Second, touch experience
Real silk feels soft and smooth, and gently stroking the silk surface with your hand will produce a subtle pulling feeling; while imitation silk feels slightly tough. If the real silk is relatively dry, the friction between the silks will make a sound similar to stepping on snow when pinched, which is a unique feature of dry silk. In addition, silk does wrinkle easily. There is a saying that "no wrinkles, no silk", but this is not a quality problem.
Third, burning identification
Take a strand of silk yarn from the edge of the fabric and light it with a match. Silk fibers burn slowly, first curling into a ball and emitting a unique smell similar to burnt hair or bird feathers. Once the silk bundle leaves the flame, it will stop burning immediately and can be crushed into powder with a light press of the hand. In contrast, polyester fibers have a sweet smell when burning, and their residues are hard and black beads, and the lumps are difficult to crush. When viscose and other cellulose fiber filaments burn, they emit a burning smell of paper, and their residues are a little grayish-white ash.
Fourth, dissolution experiment
Take a small amount of silk fiber and put it into the "84" disinfectant. You will find that silk can be completely dissolved in the disinfectant. However, fibers such as polyester and viscose cannot do this.
Fifth, microscopic observation method
The cross-section of mulberry silk presents triangular characteristics. The cross-section of ordinary polyester silk is round, and its longitudinal surface appears smooth. For viscose fibers, the edges of its cross-section are serrated, and the longitudinal surface is smooth and has clear stripes.
In addition, real silk can also be identified by observing the logo.
Domestic silk uses a unified five-digit Arabic numeral product number, in which the first digit represents the fabric material. For example, the material number of all-silk fabrics (including mulberry silk and spun silk) is usually "1", while that of chemical fiber fabrics is "2".
It should be noted that imported silks sold on the market usually do not contain silk ingredients, such as georgette, Rouzisha Zhuliwen, etc. These products are actually chemical fiber fabrics.
Of course, price is also an important factor in identifying silk fabrics. The price of silk fabrics is about twice that of chemical fiber and simulated silk satin. Too cheap "silk" products may have problems, but high prices do not always mean that they are silk, so it is necessary to use a combination of multiple identification methods to make judgments
