Skip to content
The cocoons of wild tropical Tussah Silkworms in the tropics of India look different than other types of Tussah. The worm starts by spinning a Peduncle or very stiff stem, much like the stem of an apple. They attach this stem around a branch of the tree that they feed on by constructing a silk ring. After one full day of making the Peduncle, they finally start to spin their cocoon. The Peduncle is a very dark natural black color and is extremely stiff because of the extra sericin, the "glue" that binds the strands of silk together.
In an effort to not waste anything in the silk production process, silk harvesters use the silk fibers in the Peduncle which are harvested after the moths have naturally emerged from their cocoons.
The first step in processing the Peduncles is to soak them overnight. After being soaked, they are boiled in water, soap, and washing soda to break down the seracin (just like the production of turning silk cocoons into silk hankies). After being boiled for 3 hours, most of the seracin is gone. The fibers are then washed and dried in the sun. Once the fibers are completely dry, they are beaten, carded several times, and then pulled into spinnable roving. The resulting fibers are extremely soft, lustrous and strong!