Sea silk

Sea silk is an extremely fine, rare, and valuable fabric that is made from the long silky filaments or byssus secreted by a gland in the foot of pen shells (in particular Pinna nobilis).^[1] The byssus is used by the clam to attach itself to the sea bed.^[2]

Sea silk was produced in the Mediterranean region from the large marine bivalve mollusc Pinna nobilis until early in the 20th century. The animal, whose shell is sometimes almost a metre long, adheres itself pointed end down to rocks in the intertidal zone using a tuft of very strong thin fibres. These byssi or filaments (which can be six centimetres long) are spun and, when treated with lemon juice, turn a golden colour, which never fades.^[3]

The cloth produced from these filaments can be woven even more finely than silk, and is extremely light and warm; it was said that a pair of women's gloves made from the fabric could fit into half a walnut shell and a pair of stockings in a snuffbox.^[4]^{[note 1]} The cloth attracts clothes moths, the larvae of which will eat it.

Pinna nobilis is also sometimes gathered for its edible flesh and occasional pearls of fair quality.

^ "The Last Surviving Sea Silk Seamstress". BBC. 6 September 2017.
^ Webster's (Third New International Dictionary (Unabridged) ed.). G. & C. Merriam Co. 1976. p. 307.
^ "Chiara Vigo: The Last Woman Who Makes Sea Silk". BBC. 2 September 2015.
^ Oxford English Dictionary (1971), under Byssus.

Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

[1] "The Last Surviving Sea Silk Seamstress". BBC. 6 September 2017.

[2] Webster's (Third New International Dictionary (Unabridged) ed.). G. & C. Merriam Co. 1976. p. 307.

[3] "Chiara Vigo: The Last Woman Who Makes Sea Silk". BBC. 2 September 2015.

[4] Oxford English Dictionary (1971), under Byssus.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[note 1]