THE SELF-WOVEN SILK BATTING

The inner silk batting, made entirely of natural silk cocoons, is a solid mass woven together by hundreds of silkworms simultaneously releasing their silk strands onto a flat surface. This scientific endeavor belongs to Ms. Phan Thi Thuan - a silk weaving artisan from Phung Xa Village, My Duc (HaNoi). Harnessing her inherited secrets and experience, Ms. Thuan has allowed the silkworms to independently weave a durable, evenly-distributed, and flawlessly-stranded quilt unmatched by human hands.

From tiny eggs hatch miniature silkworm larvae, which undergo three molting stages interspersed with intensive eating periods to grow. Upon entering the final "ripe" stage, each worm consumes 75-80% of its lifetime food intake, gorging day and night until plump enough to begin spinning. Around 20 days old, the "ripe" worms ascend to their spinning mounts and perform the most meaningful act of their brief lives - emitting silk. For two successive days and nights, each worm tirelessly releases shimmering silk filaments, encircling itself. To expel every last strand, the worm stands on its hind legs and repeatedly cranes its neck while its intestines contract tens of thousands of times. On average, each silkworm contains 400-550m of silk thread within its body. Whereas worms spin in mountings under normal rearing conditions, when released onto an open flat surface with nowhere to anchor, they are forced to release their silk into the open space. The artisan must sit watchfully 24/7 as the worms instinctively roam searching for a place to spin; unable to find a mount and weighed down by their silk reserves, they ultimately discharge the precious strands onto the surface.

To achieve an evenly-distributed silk batting without overly thick or thin patches, Ms. Thuan continually repositions the worms, promptly removing those that have emptied their silk reserves to prevent newer strands from tangling upon them. As hundreds of worms emit in unison, each shimmering filament layers atop the others, interlacing into a soft, lustrous silk sheet. After four days, once the last worm has expelled its entire silk supply, the batting's weaving is complete. Processing this raw silk sheet through traditional degumming techniques yields a delicate, warm, pure silk quilt filling.

Ms. Thuan explains that the quintessential artistry lies in the degumming phase - ensuring the quilt remains lofty and soft without matting or shrinking.

At To Vang, we combine this all-natural silk batting with handwoven brocade covers made from local Bao Loc silk, hand-embroidered with traditional motifs. The result is an exquisite, sustainable silk duvet - soft and breathable for summer yet warm for winter.