Raw silk. The product of the blind and flightless moth, <i>Bombyx mori</i>, perhaps the most zealously guarded commercial secret in history, silk has a romantic and dramatic history. In its most common usage the term "raw silk" denotes fibers that have not been fully stripped of the gummy sericin residues from the cocoon, resulting in an uneven, nubbly fiber. Once woven in this form the silk has a pleasantly irregular appearance. Not to be confused with dupione or several of the weaves of Tussah (wild) silk such as shantung or rajah, which also have an irregular, matte appearance--though the terms are often used almost interchangeably.
