Designers Take Notice: Jemala® has developed a new fabric!
Warmsilk® is a novel noble yarn; made from a proprietary blend of ultrafine wool and mulberry silk. It is the first time that wool finer than 14 micron has been added to silk in such a way as to enhance the properties of silk.
Normal silk-wool blends are created using wool whose fibre diameter is roughly twice that of the silk fibre; 19 micron wool with 10-12 micron silk. They also contain more wool than silk. These two factors mean that the wool dominates the silk, in the way it looks, the way it feels, and the way the yarn and fabric behaves. We at Jemala® think of these traditional blends as being similar to mixing hair and wire. On the other hand, Warmsilk® is created using two noble fibres that are very similar to each other in fibre diameter; wool less than 14 micron with 10-12 micron silk.
Below you may see a comparison to regular wool (in blue) and silk (in red) on the left, compared to our blend of ultrafine wool and silk on the right.
Warmsilk® also uses less wool than silk. We have adjusted the ratio of wool to silk to optimise the look, feel and drape of the fabric. This results in a fabric that looks like silk, feels like silk, and behaves like silk, except for two important factors.
Clinging:
Anyone who has worn pure silk will tell you that it will cling to you during humid weather, or any other conditions that cause you to perspire. The first advantage of Warmsilk® over pure silk is that the wool wicks the moisture away from your skin, preventing the fabric from clinging, and preventing you from feeling sweaty.
Warmth:
Users of pure silk will also tell you that it does not keep you as warm as some other natural fibres, such as wool. Our Warmsilk® has proven to be far better at keeping you warm when it is cold, or air-conditioned, and far better at keeping you cool when it is hot. Warmsilk® can be used for any application that silk is used for (and due to the wicking ability, may actually extend the range of use for silk-based fabrics). It looks like silk, feels like silk and drapes like silk. Unless you were told that it was not pure silk, you would not know it.
The Importance of Width:
How many times has the limited width of a bolt of cloth impacted on your work? Have you had to put more joins in a garment than you would otherwise have wanted to? Jemala has been able to access a 2.8 meter wide loom to weave Warmsilk®, which allows us to produce this fabulous new fabric at any width up to 2.8 meters wide. Industry insiders have already commented on what an advantage this is and how it will stimulate novel designs. It will allow designers to take full advantage of cutting cloth on the bias to enhance drape. Are you ready to get in “on the ground floor”?