Ordered a silk saree online? And now you are busy thinking whether you spent your money on the right kind of silk or not. Well! To help you distinguish between genuine and synthetic silk, here are 5 factors that you should know to assess the quality of silk you have bought or you may buy. Read on:
Cost
No matter whether you bought that coveted silk sarees online or offline, if it is made using genuine silk, its cost would be relatively higher. Synthetic fibres, for e.g. polyester may sometimes look and feel like silk to the untrained eye. Many a times, sellers take advantage of this fact and sell synthetic silk sarees at the rate of pure silk sarees. In order to get what you pay for, both offline and online shopping for silk sarees should be done from reputed stores only.
Sheen
Silk fabric is a combination of single-coloured yet varied threads in each of the weft and warp. This technique and the additional zari work render that glistening appearance to silk sarees. This lustrous surface appears to change colour as the angle of light on it changes. Synthetic fabrics have a pallid shine, no matter what the angle of the light.
Weave
Silk is either hand-woven or machine-woven (also called hand-loom and power-loom silk) While saress/suits or any other attire made using handloom silk can be believed to be 100% genuine, synthetic silk is always a mix of two or more fabrics. Like any other hand-made thing, hand-woven silk might have minor variations in the evenness of the weave. These are natural and to be expected – they are what give each piece its individual value.
On the contrary, power-loom silk has perfect weave, although a few artificial fabrics are made to look very realistic, including slight imperfections such as slubbing.
Pattern
Either a printed pattern or a woven one, genuine silk will have these patterns visible on one side and a delineation of the same on the reverse side. The only difference is that the woven pattern will appear a bit indistinct on the other side. Synthetic fabrics with a printed pattern will have the pattern visible on one side and a plain colour on the reverse side.
Burn Test
Try burning a few threads of genuine silk and you would notice a smells similar to as that of burnt hair or pure wool. It will leave a black, powdery residue. Further, pure silk will only burn as long as a flame is applied to it. It will immediately stop burning as soon as the flame is taken away. Put synthetic silk to flame and it will produce an obnoxious smell as that of burning plastic. It will begin dripping; produce black smoke and a black ball of residue (not ash) would be formed. Further, it will keep burning even after the flame is taken away. This is not a standard test you should perform on silk! However, it is a fairly definitive test.
So, make sure that the pure silk saree shopping online you have invested time in is worth the price and effort. Use the tips above and be assured about the quality of silk you buy.
