China Silk

a plain-woven silk manufactured on the hand looms of China, Japan, and India. The same thread is used for both warp and weft, the weaving is done evenly, and the finished product possesses a natural luster. As the spinning is done by hand also, there are imperfections in the thread which produce certain irregularities in the fabric. These irregularities make it possible to distinguish real China silk from imitations produced by machine spinning and weaving. The Japanese silk is superior in smoothness and softness to that from China. In the factories of Japan and China two men working all day will weave three or four yards of silk and receive in payment for their labor about ten cents apiece. The imitation "china silk" produced by machinery in the United States is neither so soft, so lustrous, nor so durable as the hand weave. It does not show uneven threads.