“Spider Silk” Futuristic Fabrics for Textile Industry

“Spider Silk” Futuristic Fabrics for Textile Industry

Mahima Nand
Asst. Editor Textile Merchandising
Assistant Professor, Amity University
Research Scholar in Sustainable fashion
National Institute of Fashion Technology
New Delhi – 110 016, India
Email: mahima.nand@nift.ac.in

Spider Silk:

A rare and beautiful emerging protein fiber is going on board all over the world due to its amazing physical, chemical and biological properties resulting its high demand and future scope in fabric business. Spider’s web made of silk is being used in this process to make textiles. Spiders have different glands to produce variety of silks with versatile properties making it suitable for various routine and differed uses.

Routine Usage of Spider Silk:

Designers came up with this idea of weaving and extracting spider silk seeing its versatile flexibility in garment making such as elasticity, toughness, temperature, high performance, its high tensile strength compared to even steel.

Different Types of Spider Silk:

1. Dragline Silk: It is extracted from outer wheel of spider web because of its high strengthening properties.
2. Tubiliform Silk: A spider produces this silk to protect its egg sac being very stiff in nature.
3. Capture Spiral Silk: As the name says it’s used to capture lines of web as it is sticky and very sticky.
4. Minor Ampullate: This fiber of spider is used to construct web.
5. Aciniform Silk: While hunting prays spider uses this silk to wrap the captures pray.

Importance of Spider Silk:

A Cape made from Spider Silk

Spider silk is durable than steel by heaviness, stronger than Kevlar, and lighter than carbon fiber. In the first century, Spider silk is use as dress wounds. Spider silk in body amours used in armed forces. Spider Silk fibers are currently used in a wide variety of military, industrial, and consumer applications requiring superior strength, toughness and flexibility.

Future Plans of Spider Silk Applications by Designers:

Due to its mechanical properties designers will be engaging in spider silk production and designing in numerous personal and industrial application. It is lighter and has a lower density which makes it ever more eligible for garments like aircraft bodies, medical sutures, healthcare products, automobiles etc. Hence seeing the beautiful attractive and useful properties spider silk will have a huge impact on textile industry in coming years.

Noor Ahmed Raaz

Founder & Editor of Textile Merchandising. He is an Assistant Professor and Chairman of the Textile Engineering Department of a Reputed University in Bangladesh. He has performed numerous Research Regarding Textile Engineering. He has also received two times “Research & Development Fellowship” from the Ministry of Science & Technology in Bangladesh. For any further queries, please contact email at raju.uttara105@gmail.com or WhatsApp at +8801673758271.