Silk is one of the most misunderstood fibres in the knitting world. Most knitters assume silk is silk - one fibre, one feel, one price point.
In reality, the silk yarns available to hand knitters and machine knitters fall into two very different categories: bourette silk and mulberry silk. Understanding the difference will change how you shop, how you plan your projects, and how you think about fibre blends.
What is mulberry silk?
Mulberry silk is what most people picture when they think of silk. It is made from long, continuous filaments produced by silkworms that feed exclusively on mulberry leaves. The cocoons are carefully harvested and the filaments unwound in a process that preserves their length and integrity.
The result is an extraordinarily smooth, lustrous fibre with the classic sheen and fluid drape that has made silk one of the world's most prized materials for thousands of years.
In yarn form, mulberry silk adds:
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Visible luminosity
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A cool and almost liquid hand
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A natural drape that no other fibre can replicate.
Example: When blended with cashmere, as in Cashsilk by Filati Venezia, it creates a fabric that is lighter and more fluid than pure cashmere, with a quiet sheen and a drape that moves beautifully in a finished garment. The price reflects the labour-intensive process required to produce it.
What is bourette silk?
Bourette silk, sometimes called silk noil or schappe silk - is made from the short fibres left over during the spinning process. These are the waste fibres that cannot be used to produce long filament silk.
Rather than being discarded, they are spun together in a process more similar to how wool or cotton is processed, producing a yarn that looks and behaves very differently from mulberry silk.
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The Finish: Bourette has none of the classic silk sheen. Instead, it has a matte, slightly nubby finish with a warm and earthy character.
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The Feel: It is softer to the touch than you might expect, and it behaves beautifully on the needles.
FB Silk, our 100% bourette silk, is one of the most tactile yarns in the Yarn Atelier range - not what most people expect when they think of silk, but immediately recognisable as something special.
The Price & Application
The price difference between bourette and mulberry silk can be as much as 5x. Both are genuine silk. Neither is a compromise. They are simply different fibres with different characters and different applications.
How do they behave in a blend?
Both types of silk work beautifully in blends, but they contribute different qualities:
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Mulberry silk in a blend adds drape, sheen, and a cool hand. A cashmere and mulberry silk blend will be lighter and more fluid than pure cashmere, with a luminosity that catches the light.
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Bourette silk in a blend adds texture and warmth rather than sheen. It softens the surface slightly and adds an earthy, tactile quality without any lustre.
Watch our videos
We filmed a full series of videos this week exploring both silks in depth. You can watch our explanation of the difference between bourette and mulberry silk on Instagram, see both yarns on the cone, and follow along as we knit with both in our current WIP videos.
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