Any Japanese textile experts here?
 

Hi -- I'm new to the board, and joined because I own a piece of fabric that I'm trying to identify. I thought it was silk, but now I'm not so sure.

I found a thread from December related to identifying whether or not something is silk, which was helpful, but I'm still stymied.

It's a fabric woven from very, very fine fibers, with quite a sheen to it. It has a label on it that says "Kiryu Gown Society, Superior Trademark" with a picture of a dragonfly. It was a rummage sale find about eight years ago, but I have no idea of its history prior to that. I always thought that I might do something with it, but I haven't managed to and I believe I'll wind up eBaying it instead, hoping it lands in hands that have more talent than mine.

I don't want to misrepresent it in the listing, so I tried some of the tests from the December thread, but I'm just not sure. It doesn't "melt" like a synthetic, but it did actually flame rather than glow, which I believe silk shouldn't do? Any other tips? I really don't want to say that it's silk if it's not.

I did find this link about the Kiryu textile industry, and it does seem that Kiryu fabrics are often -- but not always -- silk.

http://www.kiea.jp/KiryuOri.html

Any information would be very much appreciated!

What did it smell like when you burnt it? A wood or papery smell means it's probably rayon. If it smelled kind of like burnt hair then it's silk.

LOL -- I'm fighting a cold right now, so my sense of smell isn't that keen. I did the burn test in the kitchen, and my husband asked me why he was smelling burning hair, but it actually didn't smell like hair to me; I think I was smelling the sulfur from the (wood) matches more than anything else. I guess I might have to wait until my nose clears a bit to do a true smell test!

Thanks for the input.