From silkworm eggs to silk thread

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    The story of a small silkworm and its eggs

    The main character is the silkworm. Yes, that tiny caterpillar. Silkworms are like partners that humans have carefully nurtured for thousands of years in order to obtain silk thread. Nowadays, they no longer exist in the wild, but are a living creature that coexists with humans.

    Adult silkworms (a type of moth) do not fly or eat much, and in their short lives they lay around 300 to 500 tiny eggs, each about the size of a sesame seed, simply to ensure the survival of the next generation.

    These tiny, fragile-looking eggs are the "gems" that produce the gorgeous silk Persian carpets.

    Silkworm farmers treat these eggs with the utmost care. They store them as if they were jewels, always maintaining optimal temperature (around 25°C) and humidity (around 70%). This is because caring for these eggs is the first and most important step, which greatly affects the quality of the silk that will be produced later. If lively and healthy baby silkworms are not born, good cocoons cannot be made.

    Munching mulberry leaves and spinning thread

    From the carefully cared-for eggs, tiny larvae eventually hatch. Their job is to eat! They munch, munch, munch on their favorite mulberry leaves... They have a voracious appetite, and in just a month or so they grow rapidly. It's like watching magic.

    Once the silkworm has fully grown, it finally begins the most important task of its life: making a cocoon. It spits out super-thin silk threads from its mouth and wraps itself around itself.

    Here's an amazing fact: the length of silk thread that can be produced from a single cocoon by a single silkworm is an astounding 1,000 to 1,500 meters! Can you believe it? How can such a long, single, continuous thread be produced from such a small body? It's truly a miracle created by nature, a great achievement by a tiny artist.

    These cocoons are the origin of the beautiful threads that make up silk Persian carpets.

    Magnificent carpets emerge from vast cocoons

    The thread spun by a single silkworm is certainly miraculously long and beautiful, but unfortunately, a single thread is too thin and not enough to weave a carpet.

    So how many cocoons does it take to make, say, one square meter of silk Persian carpet like the ones we see today?

    The answer is... it is said that it takes about 400 to 600 cocoons!

    The total length of the silk thread that can be extracted from the cocoon is approximately 40,000 to 60,000 meters! Converted to kilometers, this works out to 40 to 60 kilometers!

    ...It's a hard number to imagine, isn't it? To put it in perspective, that means that silk threads as long as the distance from Tokyo Station to the finish line of the Hakone Ekiden (Lake Ashi) are packed tightly into that one square meter carpet!

    In particular, Qom carpets, known for their intricate designs, are woven using extremely fine threads with a tight weave, requiring many more cocoons and threads. When you learn these astonishing figures, don't you begin to understand a little more about how luxurious and labor-intensive Qom carpets are, and why they have such a smooth, deep luster?

    It all starts with the "best eggs" - the origin of Kumu quality

    The reason why Qom silk Persian carpets are admired as the best by people all over the world is because of their breathtakingly intricate designs and unrivaled deep, lustrous shine.

    And to achieve this beauty, the highest quality silk thread is absolutely essential: thin, strong, uniform, and above all, with a beautiful luster.

    So how is this top quality silk thread produced? You already know the answer. It all depends on the quality of the cocoons. And to make good cocoons, healthy, vigorous silkworms must be raised. And to raise those vigorous silkworms...that's right, thorough management is essential, right from the egg stage, where it all begins.

    It's true that "making a good carpet starts with selecting good eggs." The silkworm farmers who support the beauty of Qum select eggs that will produce healthy silkworms, incubate them in the optimal environment, feed them nutritious mulberry leaves, and raise them with the utmost care to prevent them from getting sick. It is only through this tireless effort and deep love, behind the scenes that we cannot see, that the finest cocoons and the finest silk thread are produced.

    The brilliance of Qom silk carpets is not just the result of design and weaving techniques, but is the culmination of a long, long process that begins with the egg, the "source of life."

    summary

    The enchanting beauty of silk Persian carpets. Tracing its origins leads to a tiny silkworm egg. A single egg is carefully nurtured, and the larvae grow by eating mulberry leaves, creating a cocoon with miraculously long threads. From that cocoon, shining silk threads are spun, and then, by the hands of artisans, they are slowly woven into carpets...

    A single silk carpet is packed with the tiny lives of countless silkworms, the love of the silkworm farmers, and the skill and passion of the carpet maker.

    The next time you see a silk Persian carpet, try to remember that each and every one of its shining threads has such a background. You will surely find the carpet more precious and precious than ever before. It is not just a beautiful object, but a living work of art, woven with the lives and thoughts of many people.

    [For advice on choosing a Persian carpet, click here]

    Golestan, a Persian carpet specialty store, will help you find the perfect carpet to suit your room and lifestyle. Our expert staff will be happy to assist you with choosing from our wide selection, so please feel free to consult with us.

    We look forward to your visit and inquiries.

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