| Some silk rug dealers neglect to tell you that the silk | | | | fiber could lift a 747 aircraft. |
| Persian rugs they're selling to you are comprised of | | | | Unfortunately, there are transient distributors of |
| artificial silk. This problem happens mostly with | | | | low-integrity who sell artificial silk Persian rugs for the |
| carpets coming from those countries that weave | | | | same price as real Persian silk rugs. Artificial silk is |
| both artificial and real silk Persian rugs (IE: Turkey, | | | | easily made of mercerized cotton, or rayon fibers. It |
| India, and sometimes Pakistan), but artificial silk rugs | | | | does not come from the cocoon of a silk worm. |
| are never woven in Iran, and you never find such a | | | | Cotton fibers are mercerized by being stretched |
| thing as a "Persian Artificial Silk Rug". | | | | under controlled tension, at room temperature, while |
| Natural, real oriental silk carpet is a fibrous protein | | | | being treated with a caustic soda solution. This |
| made up of a number of amino acids. It is produced | | | | causes the fiber to swell, and makes it much more |
| from the cocoon of the silk worm. To harvest the | | | | lustrous and reflective. Rayon is made almost entirely |
| silk, the cocoons are heated, or boiled to kill the silk | | | | of pure cellulose. |
| worms. Then they're unwound into single fibers, | | | | It is produced by first dissolving cellulose to a thick |
| which are then spun into thread or silk yarns. | | | | yellow liquid, called viscose. The viscose is extruded |
| When dyed, silk fibers are saturated with rich colors, | | | | through tiny holes into a chemical bath that makes |
| and have a distinctive, almost translucent luster. Silk is | | | | long filaments that are spun into thread or yarn. |
| extremely high in tensile strength, exceeding that of | | | | Artificial Persian silk carpet is not a long lasting quality |
| nylon. It has been estimated that if a single silk fiber | | | | fabric, and loses its lustrous shine quickly. Its durability |
| with a diameter of a pencil could be produced, the | | | | is less than that of wool. |