Below you will find links to some interesting articles on the types of silk, the history of silk and it's manufacture:

Two Articles from Fabrics.net (a great wealth of information on all types of fabric)

• the first contains a Glossary of the different silk fabrics and weaves.
• the second is about the history and production of silk: Sericulture

How Silk is Made from Silk Painting Gallery

An article on the process of Silk Cultivation, including origin and the properties of silk fibre.

An interesting news article from the BBC about how Japanese genetic engineers have created silkworms that produce flourescent green fibres.