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Eri silk (Khasi'': Ryndia)'' is the product of the domesticated silkworm '' Samia ricini'', found mainly in North East India and some part of China and Japan. It was imported to Thailand in 1974. The name "eri" is derived from the Assamese word "era", which means "castor", as the silkworm feeds on castor plants. Another type of eri silk is "Ailanthus silk moth", refers to the host plant, Borkesseu, Ailanthus excelsa, practiced in China. Eri
Eri caterpillars eat a number of plants, including Kesseru. In India, it is grown in the states of Meghalaya,
Eri silk is a staple fiber, unlike other silks, which are continuous filament. The texture of the fabric is coarse, fine, and dense. It is very strong, durable, and elastic. Eri silk is darker and heavier than other silks and blends well with wools and cotton. Due to its thermal properties it is warm in winter and cool in summer.
In India, eri was mostly used for the preparation of winter shawls for men and women. The thermal properties of eri silk makes it a suitable fabric for shawls, jackets, blankets, and bed spreads. Dress materials and baby dresses are also made from eri silk fabric because of its soft texture and moisture absorbent quality. Nowadays very fine (up to 210 Nm) eri spun yarns are available, which enables weaving of very fine clothing, including traditional sari dress materials.
Eri silk is durable and strong and has a typical texture; hence, it is widely used in home furnishing like curtains, bed covers, cushion covers, wall hangings, quilts, etc. Its woolly feel adds to the comfort.
Two eri spun-silk mills have been established in Hindupur in Andhra Pradesh and Kokrajhar in Assam while another is at Chaygaon, near Guwahati, Assam, which is spinning Eri spun-silk yarn with various blends with bamboo, muga silk, and cotton.
Eri silk products are promoted as eco-friendly and natural, and provide jobs and money for the tribal peoples who practice eri culture.
Eri silk production in India during 2007–2008 was 1,530 tons. This made up 73 percent of the total wild silk production of 2,075 tons.
Vegan designer Lucy Tammam uses eri silk in her couture evening and bridal wear collections.
"Did the Silk Route Miss Meghalaya's Eri Silk"
May 26, 2019. * Jayaramiah, Jaishankar (2009 July 20)
"Silk Board keen on pvt sector initiative to promote eri silk"
Retrieved November 25, 2009. * Joy, Steena
"Eri silk set to take the fashion world by storm"
Retrieved November 25, 2009. * Muezart, Yarn
"Eri Silk Online Store"
{{Silk fibre Silk Silk in India
Eri silk (Khasi'': Ryndia)'' is the product of the domesticated silkworm '' Samia ricini'', found mainly in North East India and some part of China and Japan. It was imported to Thailand in 1974. The name "eri" is derived from the Assamese word "era", which means "castor", as the silkworm feeds on castor plants. Another type of eri silk is "Ailanthus silk moth", refers to the host plant, Borkesseu, Ailanthus excelsa, practiced in China. Eri silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...
is also known as endi or errandi in India. The woolly white silk is often referred to as the fabric of peace when it is processed without killing the silkworm. This process results in a silk called Ahimsa silk
Ahimsa silk (''ahiṃsā'': Sanskrit for 'nonviolence') is a method of nonviolent silk breeding and harvesting. Wild silk moths are bred, rather than the domestic variety. It allows the completion of the metamorphosis of the silkworm to its moth s ...
. Moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
s leave the cocoon and then the cocoons are harvested to be spun. The eri silkworm is the only completely domesticated silkworm other than ''Bombyx mori
The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically imp ...
''.
Process
Eri caterpillars eat a number of plants, including Kesseru. In India, it is grown in the states of Meghalaya, Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...
, Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
, Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...
, Chhattisgarh, Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
, Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
and some small cities in other states. It has been grown in 28 provinces of Thailand since 1974 where the heavy rainfall and humid atmosphere of the region suits the eri culture. The spun threads are often more "cottony" than most ''Bombyx'' silks, although some eri yarns can be very soft and shiny. After 30–32 days, the silkworm crawls in search of a comfortable place among the leaves to spin its cocoon.
In Thailand, eri silkworms are fed cassava
''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...
leaves as well as castor leaves.
Qualities
Eri silk is a staple fiber, unlike other silks, which are continuous filament. The texture of the fabric is coarse, fine, and dense. It is very strong, durable, and elastic. Eri silk is darker and heavier than other silks and blends well with wools and cotton. Due to its thermal properties it is warm in winter and cool in summer.
Uses of eri silk fabric
In India, eri was mostly used for the preparation of winter shawls for men and women. The thermal properties of eri silk makes it a suitable fabric for shawls, jackets, blankets, and bed spreads. Dress materials and baby dresses are also made from eri silk fabric because of its soft texture and moisture absorbent quality. Nowadays very fine (up to 210 Nm) eri spun yarns are available, which enables weaving of very fine clothing, including traditional sari dress materials.
Eri silk is durable and strong and has a typical texture; hence, it is widely used in home furnishing like curtains, bed covers, cushion covers, wall hangings, quilts, etc. Its woolly feel adds to the comfort.
Two eri spun-silk mills have been established in Hindupur in Andhra Pradesh and Kokrajhar in Assam while another is at Chaygaon, near Guwahati, Assam, which is spinning Eri spun-silk yarn with various blends with bamboo, muga silk, and cotton.
Eri silk products are promoted as eco-friendly and natural, and provide jobs and money for the tribal peoples who practice eri culture.
Eri silk production in India during 2007–2008 was 1,530 tons. This made up 73 percent of the total wild silk production of 2,075 tons.
Vegan designer Lucy Tammam uses eri silk in her couture evening and bridal wear collections.
See also
* Meghalaya *Sericulture
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, '' Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively stud ...
* Assam Silk
* Agriculture in Thailand
Agriculture in Thailand is highly competitive, diversified and specialized and its exports are very successful internationally. Rice is the country's most important crop, with some 60 percent of Thailand's 13 million farmers growing it on almost ...
References
External links
* Budelman, Joanna"Did the Silk Route Miss Meghalaya's Eri Silk"
May 26, 2019. * Jayaramiah, Jaishankar (2009 July 20)
"Silk Board keen on pvt sector initiative to promote eri silk"
Retrieved November 25, 2009. * Joy, Steena
"Eri silk set to take the fashion world by storm"
Retrieved November 25, 2009. * Muezart, Yarn
"Eri Silk Online Store"
{{Silk fibre Silk Silk in India