The best 8 silk types suitable for custom printed scarf making
Do you know that there are currently over 50 varieties of silk fabric available, but not all of them are suitable for the production of scarves? Only 8 specific types of silk fabrics are appropriate for creating custom printed scarves. As a leading manufacturer based in Hangzhou, China, specializing in the production of personalized silk scarves, we have successfully catered to numerous high-end brands with their own unique designs. We possess a profound appreciation for silk scarves and aspire to provide people worldwide with the opportunity to experience their unparalleled softness, smoothness, and luxury. We would be delighted to engage in a discussion regarding these distinctive aspects with you.
The Histroy of Mulberry Silk in China
In China, the origin of mulberry silk can be traced back to the Yellow Emperor period over 5,000 years ago when Lei Zhu, the wife of Huangdi, discovered small black insects on mulberry leaves. She later found that the white silk produced by them was lightweight, soft, and comfortable to wear. This discovery marked the beginning of raising silkworms and weaving silk fabrics in China. Silk production in China includes various types such as mulberry silk, Zuo silk, castor bean silk, and cassava silk. However, mulberry silk is the most widely used due to its ability for large-scale silkworm cultivation on mulberry leaves. This ensures both high output and stable quality of mulberry silk.
Then you may wonder how silkworms produce silk. Mulberry silk is also known as "natural silk" and is produced by the silkworms when they become mature and form cocoons by secretion of silk liquid from their mouthparts in the air after solidifying. It is a genuine animal fiber with a pure white color, smooth texture, and fine feel.
Moreover, the fiber of mulberry silk is very long and strong, making it suitable for daily clothing and accessories.
Mulberry Silk
Silk from mulberry silkworms is a continuous long fiber produced by the silkworm when it secretes silk fluid, which solidifies in the air.
Zuo Silk
Zuo silk made from the fibers produced by the oak silkworm is soft touching, but it has a high shrinkage rate and is difficult to dye.
Castor Bean Silk
The structure of castor silk is similar to that of mulberry silk, but it has lower strength.
Cassava Silk
It known as the "diamond of silk," has a fluffy, soft texture and excellent moisture absorption, comparable to mulberry silk.
How to Choose Top-quality
Mulberry Silk.
Over 90% of the silk fabrics widely used in the market are made from mulberry silk. The raw materials for mulberry silk can be divided into three categories: raw silk, spun silk, and silk wadding.
Raw silk is the highest quality material for mulberry silk, where workers remove silkworm cocoons to weave the thread. This type of silk is soft, smooth, has a gentle luster, is highly absorbent, anti-allergic and helps resist external cold. It is considered as luxurious as cashmere in textiles and is used in various high-end custom clothing and accessories. It is also the primary fabric used for custom printed silk scarves.
Spun Silk refers to a type of defective cocoon produced during textile processing. It is suitable for brushed-silk weaving process and its shorter fibers create a fluffy effect when rubbed on cut surfaces of fibers. Brushed-silk scarves are ideal for wearing in autumn and winter due to their similarity with cashmere texture-wise.
Silk wadding refers to cotton-like material made from silk which finds wide usage as filling material in quilts.
the quality Grade Of Mulberry Silk
At Zhigeng Silk, we promise to custom print your designs on the top-grade 6A mulberry silk fabric for you.
Why is 6A Mulberry Silk considered the best silk fabric?
China, the origin and main producer of mulberry silk, has set up the "GBT 1797-2008 Silk Quality Standards" according to different raw materials of mulberry silk, which is opposite to the American four-point standard. In China, the higher the grade, the higher the quality grade of raw silk. It is mainly divided into grades based on the length, thickness, surface smoothness and toughness of mulberry silk fibers, which can be divided into 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A and other grades. Among them, 6A grade is the highest, representing the best quality of mulberry silk fabric. All the mulberry silk fabrics we use meet the quality requirements of 6A grade. Compared with the price of 20/22D mulberry silk, the price of 3A-4A is about 15% lower than that of 5A-6A. Therefore, higher grade mulberry silk fabrics are certainly more expensive than lower grade ones.
Based on the above information, it is evident that silk is a natural animal fiber produced by silkworms. People collect this fiber and spin it into yarn, which is then woven into various silk fabrics using looms. In China, there are a total of 15 categories of silk fabrics, comprising more than 50 types. Zhigeng Silk, a company with extensive production and operational experience, has identified 8 commonly used types of silk fabrics for custom printed scarves: silk satin, silk twill, silk crepe dine chine, silk habotai, Silk Chiffon ,silk georgette, yoryu chiffon and silk pongee(PAJ) .
The best 8 silk types suitable for custom printed scarf making
mulberry silk is best nature silk and it can be weaved into different types of silk fabrics
Silk Satin(Charmurse)
The silk satin fabric is light weight and incredibly soft and silky to the touch. it has a lustrous shine on one side and a dull matte finish on the other.
It is a perfect material that can be printed on, with high-quality, vibrant colours and images - this creates the perfect combination of a soft, luxurious look and feel and a vibrant pattern printed on to the surface.
Popular used for square scarf,large shawl,neck scarf classic oblong scarf and hair accessory.
Silk Twill
As its name implies, Silk Twill is a silk fabric that adopts twill weave, it features a distinguished diagonal rib pattern and often darker colored front side (called the wale) with a lighter back. it has high thread count, which means that the fabric is opaque, thick, and durable.
These great benefits of silk twill makes it a popular choice for many fashion designers and brands.Such items include scarves, shawls, neck scarves, head scarves ,twilly and ties.
Silk Crepe Dine Chine (CDC)
Crepe de chine fabric features a silky smooth feel, fluid drape and grainy texture. Lightweight, dense and breathable, it does not have a glossy luster, The fabric is opaque, but in light shades it can be a bit sheer.
However,Silk crepe de chine is an ideal choice for dresses,blouses, shawls and scarves.
Silk Habotai
Silk habotai is the type of a plain weave silk cloth renowned for its fineness, light weight, softness, sheen and silky hand, A smooth yet luxurious base for embroidery, silk painting and other creative work it is also perfect for lining finer garments,as well as for creating summer blouses, pareo, light lingerie and scarves.
The main difference with stain is shinier. Habotai is also similar, but it's a lighter weight plain weave ,the same woven on both sides and is known to be the smoothest of the silk fabrics.
Thinner Silk fabric types
Suitable for beach and Summer holiday
Silk Chiffon
Chiffon is a translucent fabric, or gauze, it is a lightweight, plain-woven sheer fabric, or gauze, woven of alternate S- and Z- Twist crepe (high-twist) yarns. Chiffon is smoother and more lustrous than the similar fabric, Georgette.
Good often used as a decorative fabric in accessories, such as a lightweight scarf for warmer months, or a beautiful sash for wear with wraps ,pareo.
silk Georgette (GGT)
Silk georgette is a lightweight, breathable, grainy texturefabric with a semi-sheer appearance and a dull, matte finish. Georgette is textured and slightly coarse to the touch, Made of same yarn as crepe silk,woven using tightly twisted yarns in opposite directions which creates a slightly crinkled, crepe-like effect.Georgette is heavier than chiffon. It is similar to crepe silk, but is not as smooth and shiny.
Good used for blouses, dresses, shawls and scarves
silk Pongee(PAJ)
Silk Paj is one of the thinnest types of silk fabric, with a lightweight, smooth texture. It is woven in a plain weave pattern, giving it a more lightweight and look close to silk habotai appearance. The surface has a noticeable sheen.
It is often used for long-length custom silk printed scarf or handmade DIY hand drawing projects .
| SILK FABRC | THICKNESS (1Momme=4.3056 g/m2) |
Fabric Width |
| SILK TWILL | 12mm /14mm/16mm/18mm | 92cm,112cm,138cm |
| SILK SATIN | 10mm/12mm/14mm/16mm/19mm | 92cm,112cm,138cm |
| SILK HABOTAI | 8mm/10mm/12mm | 92cm,112cm,138cm |
| SILK CREPE DE CHINE(CDC | 12mm/14mm/16mm | 112cm,138cm |
| SILK CHIFFON | 6mm/8mm/10mm | 112cm,138cm |
| SILK GEORGETTE(GGT) | 8mm/10mm/12mm | 112cm,138cm |
| SILK PONGEE(PAJ) | 4.5mm/6mm | 112cm,138cm |
| YORYU CHIFFON | 10mm,12mm | 112cm,138cm |
