Silk Fabric Test

Silk Test

Each silk saree holds a spellbinding appeal to the Indian woman, transcending age, religious and regional affiliation. Every Indian woman craves for a silk saree, especially during the festive seasons. Handwoven pure silk sarees have character. They are unique and you can see this in the variations in the weave. Synthetic silk appears more even sans any variations. In rich Kanjeevaram Silk, a combination of threads of different shades of the same color is used in the weft and warp. This lends it a luster that is unparalleled by synthetic silk. Genuine kanjivaram silk tends to be more expensive.

From the gorgeous Kancheevaram and breathtaking Benaras silk to the lustrous paithanis, mekhlas, ashavalis and dhakais, she is spoilt for choice. India has the unique distinction of producing different varieties of silk in the world. Indian silk sarees are popular the world over for their sheer variety of designs, weave and high quality. Even in this day of modern sarees and designer sarees, the charm of the kanjivaram silk has not faded.

To find out if the saree is made of pure silk, a simple method can be followed.

Silk Burn Test: Take a few threads from the warp and weft and burn them from their ends. When the thread stops burning, a very tiny ash ball might be left behind. Rub the ball in-between your fingers and smell the powdered ash. If it is pure silk, it will smell like burnt hair. Silk, wool, leather and hair all burn alike and form an ash ball.

In case of artificial silk, the fibers will flare and burn out quickly there will be neither ash ball nor smell like burnt hair. The smell will be similar to that of burning plastic and you will notice black smoke.This silk fabric test is sure to help you while buying silk fabric.

Zari test: Scratch a small end of the zari pallu and scratch it against a stone or some other surface. Genuine zari will reveal a reddish silk.