At Yasha Silk ,
We sell the finest quality silk on Earth at fair and affordable prices.
We work hard to teach our friends about the benefits of pure silk as well as how to get the best value when buying. But unfortunately, the popularity of silk has attracted far too many unscrupulous merchants to the marketplace. These bad-faith companies exploit that fact by passing off fake or low-quality silk as the real thing.
That’s why Yasha Silk team has put together this page guide to identifying 100% mulberry silk. We’ll show you how to tell silk from polyester by look, feel, smell and 3 simple ways to test even at home.
Combustion Analysis to Differentiate Real Silk from Fank Silk
Fabric specimens underwent ASTM D123-20 combustion analysis. Authentic silk exhibited self-extinguishing behavior with friable ash residue, while polyester fank silk demonstrated melt-dripping and formed hard, spherical condensates.
Critical Notes
- Safety: Conduct under fume hood with fire blanket (synthetics produce molten drips)
- Limitations: Blended fabrics require complementary tests (e.g., microscopic analysis)
- Validation: Always compare against verified silk control sample This terminology aligns with international textile standards (ASTM/AATCC) and precisely communicates the diagnostic methodology
Flame Behavior & Burn Rate
- Real Silk: Burns slowly and steadily when exposed to flame. It chars and tends to self-extinguish once the flame source is removed. The flame itself is typically yellow-orange in color.
- Fake Silk (e.g., Polyester, Rayon, Nylon): Melts before burning or burns rapidly with a brighter flame. Synthetic fibers often continue to burn or melt after the flame source is removed and may drip molten material.
Smell/Odor
- Real Silk: Emits a distinct odor reminiscent of burning hair or feathers. This is characteristic of burning protein fibers like silk or wool.
- Fake Silk: Produces a sharp, chemical, or plastic-like smell. Some synthetics might have a slightly sweetish pungency or a smell akin to burning paper mixed with chemicals.
Residue/Ash Characteristics
- Real Silk: Leaves behind fragile, dark grey or blackish ash that crumbles easily into powder when touched. No hard beads remain.
- Fake Silk: Forms hard, dark beads, lumps, or melted plastic-like remnants. These residues retain their shape when cool and are not easily powdered. Rayon may leave lighter, fluffier ash than silk, but still differs significantly from the easily crumbled silk ash.
84 Disinfectant to Distinguish Real Silk from Imitation Silk
The 84 Disinfectant Accelerated Degradation Test exploits the susceptibility of Bombyx mori fibroin proteins to oxidative bleaching agents. Authentic silk undergoes hydrolytic chain scission upon NaClO exposure, while synthetic analogues exhibit inert behavior.
Critical Notes
- Concentration control: Undiluted 84 disinfectant will destroy both fabrics
- Safety: Conduct in ventilated area with gloves (chlorine gas release risk)
- Validation: Always cross-verify with burn/float tests
Preparations
Soak the Fabric
Waiting...
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Stir slowly
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Waiting...
Fake Silk not Change
Real silk will Dissolve
Employing Momme Unit Differentiation for Silk Verification
Momme is a form of weight measurement that is used for silk, pronounced “mom-ee” and abbreviated as “mm”. Silk fabric less than 20mm is considered lightweight, 20 to 28mm is considered medium-weight and anything above that is considered heavyweight.
The formula to calculate the weight per square meter of 100% silk fabric is: Width (in meters) x Weight (in momme) 1 momme = 4.3056 grams /㎡
Example for 16mm 114cm width = 1.14 x 16 x 4.3056 ≈ 78.53g
Critical Notes
- Requires precise weighing instruments (error margin < 0.1 g)
- Inapplicable to unlabeled/unwoven silk fibers
- Complementary to chemical/combustion tests for blended fabrics
16 Momme
19 Momme
22 Momme
