Peace silk, and why the name is accurate here
Eri comes from Samia ricini, a silkworm fed on castor leaf. The moth completes its life cycle and leaves the cocoon before the silk is taken. That leaves a broken filament, which cannot be reeled into a continuous thread, so it is spun instead, like wool or cotton.
This is where the name peace silk, or ahimsa silk, comes from, and unlike a lot of marketing language it describes the actual process rather than a certification somebody bought.
What spinning does to the cloth
Spun yarn behaves differently from reeled yarn. Eri has no sheen to speak of. It is matte, slightly textured, and it insulates: an eri shawl is genuinely warm in a way that a mulberry silk one is not. It drapes with more weight and less slip.
If you are expecting silk to mean glossy, this will surprise you. Handle it before you decide what you think.
Undyed on purpose
The natural colour runs from off-white to a pale brick, depending on the worm’s diet and the batch. We sell it undyed because the variation is the interesting part and because every dye step is another chance for the story to stop being true.
Eri takes natural dye well. If you want it coloured, dye it yourself or ask us and we will put you in touch with someone who does it properly.
How it compares to muga and pat
Three different species, three different results. Muga is the golden one, reeled, strong, and it deepens with washing. Pat is the white glossy one, from Bombyx mori, used for formal dress. Eri is the warm matte one you are looking at. Full comparison, with a table of what each costs per metre, in the three silks of Assam.
