Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-09-22
EIeni
in
Europe

IA 1AGA4No Ma OCh 04AA 40 OAAAOA46
the finest In the world. First of
all the climate has a lot to do
with the breeding Of the silk
worm. and second. the people
who rear the cocoons have been
doing so since the time of the
Byzantine Emperor Justinian who,
appalled, at high prices of Chinese
silks, had his monks secret preci-
Gus cocoons in their stats and
thus helped introduce silk to
Europe.
In fact, Greece was the first
European country to possess it.
So skilled were the Greeks in silk
production that in TOO A.C. Rod
erick. the King Of Sicily, con-
Quoted a war in which the silk
weavers of Thebes were abducted
and taken there to produce silk.
Greek silk is strong. lustrous.
soft, crease resistant, and has
great elasticity. 1t is 100 per cent
pure animal silk largely because
production in Greece does not
merit investments in machinery
and new techniqueS.
Prior to the introduction OF the
flying shuttle" all home industry
was hand-woven and hand-spun.
A great deal of this still exists.
The loom used in weaving is the
same all over the world, and the
movements employed are identical
whether in the primitive loom or
the Crompton automatic loom
used in the mills. And as it was
explained to us, no fundamental
changes have been made In looms
from the time of the ancients.
There are various silken mate
rails such as chiffon, georgette,
surah, crepe de chine, and raw
silk called "coucoulariko." and
standings that are woven diff
ferently, each depending on the
number of strands twisted to-
gether. The amount of twist put
in to make thread, the closenesS
of warp, weft, and thread, and
the nature of the weave itself de-
termine to a great extent the re-
sulting fabric.
The demand for more utili-
tartan fabrics has led some fac
tories to converting entirely to
the making of same rather than
the novelty type silks for which
Greece is famous throughout the
world. Such one was the Botos-
sakis factory we visited in Athens.
But with China somewhat out
of the silk picture, and with the
revived interest in silk all over the
world, Greek textiles, presently
going through their greatest Pc
Rod of activity, may well be an
important silk market for the
world.
Great strides have already been
made in the export picture which
formerly included a lot of Europe
and which now includes the
United States. With the help of
Mural King, ECA fashion and
design specialist, Greek silk man
ufacturers have arrived at the
stage where more of their tex
tiles are salable. She is also re-
sponsible for their commissioning
native Greek artists to work out
their designs. One of the most
important assists" given the silk
industry in Greece was the wild
ening of the fabric from the
former 81" and 80" widths to a
more practical So. -.
We got look see" into the
silk picture of Greece from an
other leading Greek silk figure,
Constantine Karayanopoulos of
the Chrysalis fabrics in Athens.
He told us that the silk worm is
1.-The most beautiful worm in the
world" That these silk worms
are delicate and must be pro-
tected from extremes of heat or
cold, dirt, and shock such as
might come about during a storm.
They are about the size of a
third finger and they eat six to
eight times their weight daily.
Mulberry leaves are plentiful in
Greece and the areas of Souf1i
and Thrace are very active in the
making of silk. Fifteenth century
Venetians are supposed to have
named the Peleponnesus area
"Morea" because it was shaped
like a mulberry leaf.
Often special rooms are set
aside in a village home just for
the feeding of the silk worms.
Not too frequently, a miniature
silk industry in an area has had
its beginning from a humble one
or two room family silk breeding
enterprise.