Educational Video : Unwinding silk Cocoons

The unusable silk at the center of the cocoon is called the "cradle" - when the cocoon runs out of good thread and the cradle is all that's left, I call that "cradled out." When the silk is all reeled on, it's time to re-reel.

If you either unwind the silk ( a long and slow process) or carefully cut the cocoon open the silkworm (pupae) will not die. You can then put them into uncooked oats to keep them warm. You can then see them through the brown chrysalis and they wiggle if you touch them.

So if you just happen to have some silkworm cocoons, and you want an easy (lazy) way of making a rough spun silk yarn, you can try this. Also, the technique I'm using is, (I think) a good way to get thread out of found wild silk cocoons where the moths may have already emerged.

The finest and most durable silk (for example, silk thread used in embroideries or the silk satin used in the clothing of historical Chinese royalty) is produced by locating the loose end of the silk filament that makes up the cocoon and literally unwinding the entire cocoon onto a rack.