Worms Making Silk

Some days, you learn a little, and some days, you learn a lot.

I knew nothing of silkworms until I googled it. OH MY! It is a practice that has been going on for over 5000 years. And, it is a practice that gets a lot of heat...heat for "working" the worms to produce a fabric for human use.

Without getting into the politics of it, it is an amazing process to watch. The newly hatched worms eat mulberry leaves for 42 days, rest for a couple of days, then begin spinning. The cocoons they spin are made out of a thread of silk that is 1000 to 3000 feet long. It takes 2 to 3 thousand cocoons to make a pound of silk. 70 million pounds are produced each year, requiring 10 billion pounds of cocoons. WHEW!

These are wild silkworms, not domesticated, but I figured it was worth a shot.

"How much time and money would it take to make me a silk pillowcase?" No answer.

"How much for a silk nightshirt (with matching hat) like my Uncle Woodrow used to wear?" No answer.

"How much for a pair of...you know...unmentionables...underwear? I like the briefs more than the boxers...so that would be a lot less silk to be made. Are you in touch with anybody who makes elastic?"
Again, no answer.

Answers...you can get from Google. Answers from silkworms...not so much.