Photo above: Hand-painted Bombyx Silk Sliver. Colorways (L-R): Ruckle Park, Plum Tree, Fall Foliage, Rainbow Trout, Vesuvius Bay
Richard dyed some Bombyx (aka 'mulberry silk') silk sliver about a year ago. In its natural state, our bombyx silk from China is almost slippery, compared to the "toothiness" of the Tussah Silk sliver that Richard has been dyeing for years. We were curious to see how the Bombyx Silk sliver would handle the dyeing and rinsing process.
We were so happy with the results--the sliver held together extremely well. And, there's nothing like Bombyx Silk for saturated color and beautiful shine! It's like holding a little rainbow in your hand.
This month, Richard has been dyeing our most popular Salt Spring Island colorways in Bombyx silk sliver.
We have SEVEN colors ready to ship (see photos below). You can see and order all the colors HERE. If there are fewer than seven colorways, that means we've sold out of some.
All of our Bombyx Silk Sliver colors are limited edition...we can dye more, based on demand.
Bombyx Silk Sliver from China
Our Bombyx Silk Sliver from China has a 5-6 inch fiber length. Its natural color is so white I describe it as silvery-white...like fresh snow sparkling in the Colorado sunshine.
We are at the end of our Bombyx silk sliver from China. Richard has dyed the last of our inventory. We have just a few packages of natural (undyed) sliver (if the link is broken, that means we've sold out).
If you like the fiber length and silvery-white color, we have Bombyx Silk Bricks from China.
But...no worries...we have received some Bombyx silk sliver from our trusted Silk Guy from India.
Bombyx Silk Sliver from India
Our Bombyx Silk Sliver from India has a 3-4 inch fiber length. Like our Bombyx Sliver from China, the silk silver we have from India is made from bivoltine Bombyx mori cocoons. Bivoltine varieties (two crops or generations a year) produce better quality silk than multi-voltine.
Its natural color is white, but less of a cool/silvery white compared to our China Bombyx sliver. The processing is a bit different--our new sliver from India is "airier" which makes it feel a bit softer and less slippery.
It feels more like the Nistari (naturally yellow bombyx) sliver from India that we introduced last month. The feedback we've gotten on the Nistari is it's easier to spin than our Bombyx Sliver from China.
We've not had a chance to spin the Bombyx Silver, but we think it will be a bit easier to spin. We've not dyed it yet, but we anticipate the colors will be just as saturated and lovely.
