The first classification consists of separating the reeled silks from those obtained from waste. In both cases, the other important elements are the fineness and colour. The fineness of each bave varies from 12 to 15 microns. The most prized colours are white and yellow, but there are also green and pinkish cocoons; the uniformity of the shade is, however, also of great importance. Two important threads made from reeled silk are organzine and tram; these threads feature the following characteristics:

Organzine is the highest quality silk thread, and is made from precious reeled silks. It is made from two or more single threads twisted first Z-wise and then S-wise.

Depending on the number of threads and the degree of twisting, the following organzines are produced:grenadine or granadine, with a very high twist, followed by high twist organzine, average and normal.

Tram is a yarn made from two or more threads run together and then twisted, generally used in the weft of fabrics, it is divided into crepe (the most highly twisted) and marabou.

The waste can be classified as floss, frisons and scrap.
The floss comprises the pierced cocoons from which the moths have been allowed to emerge for reproduction, damaged and incomplete cocoons and surface floss.

The frisons is composed of the cocoons which have become soaked during the maceration because they were not healthy, and the tangled first lengths of the silk filament up to the point when it begins to reel properly.

The scrap is the residue from the reeling and throwing.
The combing out of the longer waste fibres produce a thread that is known as schappe silk or floret silk; this is the spun silk yarn commonly used for knitwear, but in view of its nature it cannot compete with the reeled silks in terms of quality and regularity.
Sometimes even the impurities and the number of small knots in such silk compromise the result of the finished product. The combing of the waste also produces other even shorter lengths, which are appropriately processed to produce what is known as bourette or noil silk.

Varieties

Mulberry silk: this is the commonest quality of silk, which is produced by the secretion from the silk glands of the larva of the moth known as "Bombyx mori", or more commonly as the silkworm, which feeds on mulberry leaves.
It is the most common silk and that most widespread in sericulture.

Wild silk or Tussah silk: There are also other types of silk, derived from the larvae of various other species of moth, such as Antheraea mylitta, Antheraca proylei, Antherea perni and Antheraca yamamai, which live in oak and ash trees, on which they feed. Their cocoons are darker, hard and compact, generally yellow or grey.
The filaments are irregular and thicker. The resulting silk is known as wild silk (tussore).
The cocoons are boiled in a chemical solution or treated with softeners to obtain a softer product.

Muga: a silk native to the Indian production area of Assam and named after the Assam word “Muga” which indicates the amber colour of the cocoons.
It belongs to the same family as Tussah, and is very popular on account of its characteristic golden colour.
Muga is produced by the Antheraea assama, which is a species endemic to the valley of Brahmaputra.

Eri: another silk of Indian origin. The word Eri derives from Sanskrit, in which the ricinus or castor-oil plant is called eranada.
The leaves of the castor-oil plant, an herbaceous plant common in tropical and sub-tropical countries, belonging to the family of the Euphorbiaceae, represent the principal diet of these larvae which are consequently known as Eri.
The Eri larvae are the only species of those which do not feed on mulberry leaves that can be bred on silk farms.

Quantities Produced

A larva produces up to a maximum of two kilometres of filament, which has then to be joined to others to obtain a yarn of the kind which can be used for knitwear.

To obtain a kilo of raw silk at least 10 kilos of cocoons are required, that is 6,000 caterpillars fed with a ton of mulberry leaves. In short, it takes about 1,000 silkworms to produce the yarn required for a jumper weighing 200 grams.

The numerical ratios are such that only countries which have a plentiful supply of low cost manpower can devote themselves to sericulture on a large scale. Foremost among these is China, which alone accounts for 82% of the world production, and at present represents overall the largest producer of raw silk. Other countries, mostly in Asia, produce silk almost exclusively for domestic requirements. Only India and Brazil are in a position to place a significant part of their production on the international market. The thread of the bombyx mori, which began to bring East and West together 47 centuries ago, still continues to coil the planet in its cocoon.

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