Answer:

The production of silk originated in China in the Neolithic period (Yangshao culture, 4th millennium BC). Silk production remained confined to China until the Silk Road opened at some point during the later half of the 1st millennium BC, though China maintained its virtual monopoly over silk production for another thousand years.

Answer:

The idea for silk first came to Leizu while she was having tea in the imperial gardens. A cocoon fell into her tea and unraveled. She noticed that the cocoon was actually made from a long thread that was both strong and soft.

Leizu then discovered how to combine the silk fibers into a thread.

Steps involved in formation of silk:

Step 1: Raising silkworms & harvesting cocoons.

Step 2: Thread extraction.

Step 3: Dyeing.

Step 4: Spinning.

Step 5: Weaving.

Step 6: Ikat (binding).

How silk is made ?

Breeding silkworms: - Healthy Female silk moths can lay around 300 – 500 eggs at any one time. These eggs eventually hatch to form silkworms, which are incubated in a controlled environment until they hatch into larvae (caterpillars).