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Archive for June, 2009

Think of silk and it conjures up a picture of luxury coupled with a fragile fabric. This is as far from the truth as it’s possible to get. Silk is a luxurious fabric but it also has an enviable reputation as the strongest natural fabric in the world.

Natural silk comes from the silk worm. Hand woven silk is a better quality and delicate designs can be created with different coloured thread. Machine led weaving now uses a jet of compressed air to shoot the weft yarn between the warp yarn, which in turn increases productivity.

A good quality silk has a warp of approximately 2,000 threads minimum for each one metre width and like other natural fibres, it keeps the body cool in summer and warm in winter.

This luxurious fabric creates fantastic wedding dresses, evening dresses, evening bags, shawls and wraps. As a very versatile fabric, it also looks good in suits, tops, skirts and lingerie.

Silk fabric in soft furnishings gives the room a luxurious feel, it works very well in curtains, decorative cushions and throws, most especially bed throws and quilts.

Most silks are hand washable, but do not wring, spin or put in an automatic dryer. Simply roll in a towel and dab because it dries so quickly. Care should also be taken when ironing as the fabric may fade on a high iron setting.

Finally, although silk is the strongest natural fabric in the world, it does have small weaknesses; it is not a good resistant to abrasion, and direct sunlight should also be avoided as this will weaken the fabric, as of course does perspiration

Fill power is the most frequently used measure of down quality. Fill power is a measure of the space or fluffiness of the down clusters or feathers and is expressed in cubic inches per ounce. That is, how many cubic inches per ounce does the down occupy in the comforter or duvet? Fluffy, lofty, larger down clusters and feathers will occupy more space than smaller, flatter, matted down clusters and feathers and thus receive a higher rating. The higher the rating, the more insulating power the down has. Down warmth is a function of both the down quality rating and the amount of fill ounces in a comforter.

Given that higher quality, fluffier, loftier and larger down clusters and feathers will occupy more space than lower quality, smaller, flatter and matted clusters and feathers, paradoxically, with all else equal, it will take lesser amounts of higher quality down to fill up a down comforter compared to lower quality feathers. That is, if a down comforter is filled with higher quality down feathers, it will weigh less than the same comforter filled with lower quality feathers. So, all other things being equal, a 625 fill power duvet will have fewer ounces of fill than a similar one of equal warmth filled with a rating of 525.

Note, always check a down comforter’s fill rating. If it does not list a rating, it is typically because it is below 400 or the duvet contains less than 75% down.
Down fill ratings range from:

– 400-500 for medium quality down,

– 500-550 for good quality down,

– 550-750 for very good quality down and

– greater than 750 rated down is considered excellent.