Silk Fabric and Cotton Fabric, Which One is Better?
Cotton and silk are two of the most popular natural fabrics that are commonly used for a wide range of clothes, bed sheets and accessories. They both have pros and cons, from the price tag to performances and health benefits. Read more to find out the differences between cotton and silk material, so you can choose the right fabric that suit you for different purposes.
Material
Cotton and silk are both natural materials not synthetic materials. Cotton fabric is plant-based that comes from cotton plants while pure silk fabric is a protein fibre that comes from silk cocoon.
Cotton is made up of 99% cellulose. Cotton fabric is derived from the cellulosic fibres surrounding the seeds of cotton plants, which emerge in a round, fluffy formation once the seeds are mature. Cotton is short fibre, the length of cotton fibre is generally 10 mm-40 mm, and the fibre length of long-staple cotton is 33 mm-65 mm.
Silk is made up of protein fibre, namely, 70% of fibroin (the filament) and 30% of sericin. Fibroin consists of the sequence of long-chain amino acids and is protected with a sticky layer of sericin. Mulberry silk is the only long fibre of natural fibre, the average length of a silkworm cocoon is 800 m-1000 m.
Characteristics
The cotton plant is soft and fluffy and results in a cotton fabric often retains that soft feel. However silk texture is more soft, smooth and lighter. Silk material has waxy (not slippy like polyester satin) feeling because silk fibre is protein and it’s finer. Usually the thickness of cotton fibre is 11-22 microns while silk fibre is 10 13 microns.
Cotton fabric is very absorbent fabric because there is a lot of space between the cotton fibres. and the fibre structure of cotton makes it more breathable than synthetic fibres. Silk fibres is also very absorbent fabric and have a hollow centre which helps in the regulation of body temperature during cool and warm conditions. Cotton has better breathing capability than silk for the most part. We say the most part because both fabrics can be woven into lightweight materials that breathe well. But silk has a natural thermometer that helps cool you down in the hotter weather then bring up the insulation when the temperatures drop. To get that effect from cotton you have to add or remove layers. Because of that silk duvets are super light and soft while keep you cool in summer, warm in winter.
Cotton and silk are both natural materials. But silk fabric is gentler on hair and skin, in contrast, cotton can pull and tug on delicate hair and skin. Silk is a protein-based fibre and is naturally moisturizing; plant-based cotton is absorbent and can dry out hair and skin.
Cotton is easy to maintain, it’s durable and easy to wash. Bleach can be used on cotton but not silk. Silk is more delicate that needs to be maintained carefully. Most of the silk materials are very thin (real silk is expensive) and can tear easily even after minimal use. But many people will still choose silk because of how soft and light the fabric is. It's very comfortable and has many benefits that cotton doesn’t have.
What’s Special of Silk
Silk's unique properties come from the structure of its fibres. Silk fibres are coated with a layer of a protein known as sericin, which is a natural moisturizer; in fact, sericin is often used to make hair and skin products. Additionally, sericin is anti-microbial and anti-fungal. Silk slows down the process of frizzy, dry hair. Silk fibres have a naturally high level of hydrogen peroxide. Silk is also kinder on sensitive skin, eczema-prone skin and dry skin. It's also a fabric that is naturally more hypo-allergenic than others since it's less prone to dust mites.
Silk is simply beautiful and luxury to look at. Silk material has natural shimmering appearance that cotton material doesn’t have. Silk fabric has triangular prism-like structure, which allows silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles, thus producing different colours. Silk can be used to enhance the bedding, clothes or even home decorations, making them look luxurious.
Price
In terms of the price, cotton is more affordable and widely used. The reason is that cotton can be grown around the world. It is common and there is a very large supply of cotton fibres which drives the price down. Silk mainly comes from the mulberry silkworm that need special care. Then there is a lot of time invested in harvesting and processing the silk thread while cotton doesn’t need as much time to be turned into fabric. That processing time means expenses go up. On top of that, it takes roughly thousands silkworm cocoons to make one silk dress. That amount of fibre will drive the cost up a lot. Cotton does not come close to the difficulties that come from producing silk.
Choose Cotton or Silk?
It's totally up to you, depends on the purpose and your budget.
Cotton is the most widely used textile fibre in the world, and manufacturers can spin this fabric into a myriad of different types of products. Not just for clothing (T-shirts, dresses, jeans, underwear, formal wear, warm wear), cotton fabric is also used to make bath linens (bathrobes, bathmats, and towels) and beddings (bedsheets, blankets, and duvets). It's comfortable, affordable and easy to maintain.
Silk is more expensive (luxury) than cotton but really worth having: comfy, soft & smooth feeling, skin friendly, treat hair & skin nicely. It’s easy to become addict to silk, many people tried silk once and started to replace everything with silk: silk bedding, silk clothing, silk towels, silk accessories…Because of the price, you can consider to start from something apply to your hair and skin directly as silk is really skin friendly: silk pillowcase, silk mask, silk underwear, silk gloves, silk cap… You shall find a reliable seller selling real silk, because some seller will sell fake silk or blended silk but marked as real silk. SPOIL ME sells real silk fabric online and the price is very reasonable.