In the 8th century the Moors brought sericulture and silk weaving to Spain and Sicily, where exquisite silk fabrics were being woven by the 12th century. The French city of Lyons became a weaving center in the 15th cent. In 1685 Huguenots fleeing France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes brought the art to England, where it became centered at Spitalfields, in London. In the American colonies, attempts to establish sericulture ultimately failed. The Asian Bombyx mori, which feeds on mulberry leaves, produces the finest silk and is thus the most widely raised silkworm.
Wild silk is made by the tussah worm of India and China, which feeds on oak leaves.
In throwing, the raw silk is twisted and doubled to achieve various strengths and thicknesses. The silk is boiled in soap to remove the natural gum, then bleached or dyed. It is woven on delicate specialized looms to produce a wide variety of fabrics, e.g., taffeta, faille, velvet, crepe. Modern silk production is highly mechanized, but the finest fabrics are still handwoven.