Silk, “The Queen of Textiles” has a prominent place in the hearts of millions of women the world over. Silk is equated with elegance and grace as it is a commodity of the affluent. Obtained from a humble worm, Silk is nothing but a shell built by the worm around itself spitting out the golden thread, for hibernation, during metamorphosis, transforming itself into a Moth. Silk is expelled from the mouth of the silkworm to build the Cocoon. Silk is a protein fibre, with a composition similar to that of hair. It is said that China is the place where Silk was discovered and then was propagated to other neighbouring countries.

Cotton also is a natural fibre obtained from the Cotton plant. This is a cellulose fibre with the composition as in paper. Cotton is an Agricultural plant yielding fruits with seeds covered with tuft of fluffy fibres called Cotton. Raw cotton is processed through various stages to obtain the yarn which is then woven into a fabric.

The trend to use Natural fibres has been on the increase and gaining popularity. Even trend setters for a season have been propagating natural fibres for Textiles. Some of the natural fibres are Cotton, Silk, Wool, Linen, Bamboo, Acetate, Jute etc. Others like Nylon, Polyester, Polypropylene  are all Man made fibres.

Silk and Cotton are the most important Natural fibres predominantly used in Garments and can also be blended with other fibres too. Silk has the sheen and elegance and is light weight. Cotton on the other hand is less shiny, heavier and highly adaptable.

The only disadvantage with Silk is that it cannot be machine washed as it is a delicate fabric and liable to be damaged during washing. Cotton on the other hand is a sturdy fabric and can withstand abrasion and rough usage. Silk has to be necessarily hand washed with a mild soap has to be dripped dry.

As for the usage of these two fabrics, silk can be elegantly used for decoration in the living room, bedroom, showroom, Reception and lobby. Cotton looks good when used for bed and table linen for items like upholstery, curtains, pillow, table mat, table cover, chair cover etc.

For dresses, silk fabrics are used for delicate party / evening wear and wedding wear, with prints, embroidery or other embellishments as tops, jackets, scarves, stoles etc. Cotton can be employed for tops, bottom wear and jackets as well.

Both silk and cotton being natural fabrics, find different uses which are equally important.