Silk was
first made by the Chinese about 4,000 years ago. Silk thread is made from the
cocoon of the silkworm moth (Bombyx mori), a small moth whose
caterpillar eats the leaves of the mulberry tree.
According to Chinese legend, the first silk thread was made when the Chinese
Empress Si-Ling-Chi was sitting under a mulberry tree and a cocoon fell into her
tea; she noticed the strong, silky threads of the cocoon uncoiling. She then
developed the use of silk.
For more information on the
development of silk, click here.