The strand then passes over a conducting reel and on to a bamboo spool or is reeled into a basket. An experienced silk reeler can tell if the denier alters by the feel of the thread as it passes through her fingers. If the denier feels thinner she will automatically attach additional filaments. Hand-reeled silk is rounded in texture and has a distinctive sheen which is important to the character of Thai silk. The roundness and regularity of the ply assure that the silk will dye to an even colour.
Silk is reeled into three grades.
Filaments from the outer layer of the cocoon are relatively coarse and hairy and are skeined separately. Nowadays they are sold to outside buyers for weaving into soft furnishing fabrics. Filaments from the middle layer of the cocoon are the smoothest and easiest to reel. Those from the inner layer are very fine and can easily become tangled, requiring patience and concentration to prevent knots forming. Abhaspeln der Kokons Abb.