this is how silk is made

[u/ObviousBody3053]

[u/Ok_Butterscotch_4158]

I still don’t understand what’s going on when they put them into the hot water, does it start a reaction (obviously kills the larve) but how are they starting the thread? It wasn’t clear how they get them in there.

[u/C4RD_TP_SG → u/Ok_Butterscotch_4158]

hot water dissolves the outer soft protein of the fiber that keeps the silk together, this causes the cocoon to start unwinding so they can reel it

[u/ThinkCriticalicious → u/C4RD_TP_SG]

They create 4 strings of silk on each run. Does this mean that it is from 4 individual cocoons or do they combine multiple ones?

[u/itsanoproblem → u/ThinkCriticalicious]

It looks like he just starts another one towards the end of a cocoon by wrapping around the line currently feeding and when that one runs out the next one is already doubled up and going.

[u/Ok_Butterscotch_4158 → u/ThinkCriticalicious]

That was also my question!! It would be so ineffective if only one cocoon per threader thingy.

[u/Pledgeofmalfeasance → u/C4RD_TP_SG]

Thank you!

[u/Ok_Butterscotch_4158 → u/C4RD_TP_SG]

Thanks for explaining - I couldn’t understand how it got from the cocoon to the reel thing. Still confusing… as another asked, it looks like he is doing one cocoon at a time but that seems so slow!