In China, there is a legend that the discovery of the silkworm's silk was by an ancient empress called Xi Ling-Shi. She was drinking tea under a tree when a cocoon fell into her tea. She picked it out and as it started to wrap around her finger, she slowly felt a warm sensation. When the silk ran out, she saw a small cocoon. In an instant, she realized that this cocoon was the source of the silk. She taught this to the people and it became widespread. There are many more legends about the silkworm.

A single kimono requires the silk from 2100 silkworm moths to produce

A little history of silk

Silks were originally reserved for the kings of China for their own use and gifts to others, but spread gradually through Chinese culture both geographically and socially, and then to many regions of  Asia. Silk rapidly became a popular luxury fabric in the many areas accessible to Chinese merchants because of its texture and luster. Silk was in great demand, and became a staple of pre-industrial international trade. In July of 2007, archeologists have discovered intricately weaved and dyed silk textiles in a tomb of Jiangxi province that are dated to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, roughly 2,500 years ago. Although historians have suspected a long history of a formative textile industry in ancient China, this find of silk textiles employing "complicated techniques" of weaving and dyeing provides direct and concrete evidence for silks dating before the Mawangdui-discovery and other silks dating to the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD).

Silk thread   

 Charmeuse Silk  

    Shantung Silk

Did you know.....there is other types of silk?

• Spider silk
• Wild silk

For more info : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk