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100% Silk Thread

100 Meters of Thread per Spool

^{* Denotes Availability in 700 Meters Spools}

Kanagawa's Orizuru 50 - is a 23 dtex 4 x 3 silk thread; which means that four cocoon filaments are twisted together and the three strands of the twisted filaments are then twisted together. It is the best way to compare silk thread brands. It is a high quality filament thread manufactured in Japan by Kanagawa Co., Ltd. It is 215 dtex, 194 denier and 47 weight. The spools contain 100 meters [ 108 yards ] of silk thread and come in (212) two hundred and twelve different and vibrant colors. Silk threads are the easiest to use due to their higher strength; it's tensile strength is higher than rayon or kevlar thread. It's uses include machine embroidery, general sewing, hand quilting, machine quilting, fly tying, rod wrapping / tipping. Orizuru 8 is equivalent to Tire 50, and Clover 50 silk thread. If you are purchasing three or more spools of a single color and your thread color is available in 700 meter spools; then purchase the 700 meter spool. It is a bargain!

Shipping and Handling Charges - are set for the purchase of a single spool of thread. Every additional spool is $0.15 additional for shipping and handling. We ship via USPS to anywhere within the United States. After decades, I have settled on a pricing policy for shipping and handling that is fair to me and treats you in a manner in which I would want to be treated.

Colors - we have the largest selection of colors outside of Japan. These swatches were professionally photographed under the same conditions. So while the colors are consistent under the photographic conditions used; they may appear different on your screen. The most reliable color rendering can be obtained by viewing the largest photographs. Following are color swatches of what we offer.

Available colors for Kanagawa Orizuru 50 / 100 m Silk Thread
167 Mushroom	815 Sand	163 Shrimp	009 Dirty Pink
186 Pale Beige	829 Natural	080 Ash	048 Beige
185 Dark Flax	182 Neutral	400^* Black	041^* Midnight Black
058 Midnight Brown	150^* Prussian Blue	077 Midnight Grey	147 Midnight Green
059^* Charcoal	060 Dark Charcoal	075 Midnight Charcoal	122 Sable Brown
155 Olive Green	027 Dark Forest	026 Ripcord Black	141 Violet
117 Hydrangea	025 Midnight Blue	154 Persian Indigo	040^* Deep Turquoise
021 Royal Blue	153^* Bruise	152 Blue Black	800 Team Blue
042 Coachman	745 Peacock Blue	146 Sapphire	103 Dark Baby Blue
116 Teal	797 Bright Turquoise	085 Turquoise	020 Blue
151 Denim	118 Dark Teal	799 Electric Blue	726 Aquamarine
033^* Wedgewood	104 Light Blue	798 Dark Sea Blue	101^* Brown
057^* Coffee	082 Cherry Bark	725 Mahogany	123^* Milk Chocolate
084 Taupe Brown	124 Peanut	083^* Walnut	054 Driftwood
052 Wood	168 Mink	828 Toad	057 Umber
119 Antique	827 Khaki	051 Light Ecru	050^* Linen
158 Amber	019^* Apricot	078^* Gold	079^* Light Olive
159 Golden Wheat	814 Classic Chestnut	184^* Bronze	826 Tawny
061^* Shadow	056 Tungsten	053 Grey Ash	062 Dark Sterling
127 Dark Gray	128 Storm Cloud	090 Steel Gray	064 Grey Mist
129 Herringbone	072^* Stormy	063^* Anchor	069 Steel
071 Pewter	068 Light Silver	067 Dove	133 Lime
086 Phthalo Green	028 Deep Sea	731 Kaitoke	148 Dark Jungle
029^* Sacramento	030 Emerald	134 Highland Green	113 Moss
132 Leaf Olive	112 Basil	160 Dark Sage	114 Chartreuse
166 Mint	161 Victoria Green	764 Light Avocado	162 Olive
156 Japanese Laurel	166 Pale Green	730 Light Teal	111 Artichoke
013^* Pastel White	014 Palest Pink	015 Champagne	096 Coral
825 Pastel Coral	007 Peach	179 Turkey Red	091 Salmonberry
098 Russet	099 Aura	005^* Chinese Red	176 Pumpkin
143 Hot Orange	177 Orange	055 Cinnamon	100^* Cocoa
823 Spectacular Sunset	824 Java Brown	092 Tea Rose	180 Antique Gold
175 Sherry Spinner	183 Squash	011 Fuchsia	794 Deep Rose
171 Flamingo	172 Bubble Gum	822 Maroon	188^* Silver Violet
821 Bitterroot	170 English Rose	093 Antique Rose	007 Light Peach
008 Pastel Pink	190^* Dusty Rose	094 Rosy Peach	140 ^*Pale Pink
108 Baby Pink	193 Ghostly Pink	173 Shadow Pink	174 Pale Orchid
107^* Loganberry	108 Lavender	109 Patriarch	192 Mauve
187 Liliac	817 Deep Eggplant	818 Claret	023^* Amethyst
024 Purple	022 Blackberry	819 Dark Grape	801 Purple Accent
820 Royal Purple	191 Dark Mauve	189 Strong Liliac	135^* Dark Claret
001^* Crimson Red	002 Brick Red	178 Claret	003^* Light Claret
089 Rose	004^* Cardinal Red	010 Scarlet	169 Deep Coral
006 Magenta	795 Shocking Lips	065^* Silver Gray	045 Sky Gray
073 Silver	066^* Blue Gray	044 Grey Sky	070^* Light Sky
037 Grey	039 Buff	115 Pale Bluegreen	031 Sea Mist
088 Jade	043 Aquamarine	087 Ocean Aqua	045 Caribbean
136 Deep Aqua	137 Sea Foam	138 Hen and Chicks	139 Peacock Green
110 Baby Blue	035 Steel Blue	036 Cambridge Blue	034^* Azure Blue
032 Aqua	105 Bluegreen	038 Pastel Blue	106 Pale Aqua
120 Sea Crest	721 Powder Blue	401^* White	000^* Natural White
149 Golden Olive	181 Wheat	196 Primrose	097 Putty
141 Eggshell	142 Buttercup	016^* Straw	018 Lemon Yello
017^* Yellow

FAQs

Silk Thread

How can I tell if one brand of silk is equivalent to another?

That is a difficult question, given all the labels attached to a silk thread. I suggest you use something I call weave. You can see it expressed for example as 23 dtex 16 x 3, 16 x 3, or even 16. Silkworms have been bred for thousand of years, and a given manufacturer employs a specific species with a specific food source. In the example (23 dtex 16 x 3), the 23 dtex is a reference to the silkworm the manufacture uses; a single silk filament will be 23 dtex.
Then what does the 16 x 3 mean? It means that sixteen individual cocoons or silk filaments have been woven together to form a single strand. And the 3 means that three strands of sixteen silk filaments are woven together to form a thread.
So are all 23 dtex 16 x 3 thread for all producers identical? Well not exactly. Silk has the ability to stretch before it breaks. This stretch is called elongation and is expressed as a percentage. So when the silk producers wind the thread on spools, they apply a tension, thus elongating the thread. And this elongation affects the thread's final dtex, denier, and weight. Although this does not seriously affect property difference between silk producers.

What thread is suitable for making jewelry or string beads?

It is known that 100 weight, 50 weight, and 30 weight YLI silk threads and not suitable for this application. However, #8 silk threads can be used for beading applications on material. So it may be suitable for stringing beads or jewelry. If not, you may be able to use it by twisting two or more strands of #8 silk thread together. Until someone tells me, I just do not know the complete answer to this question.

Can this silk thread be used for fly tying or fly rod eye binding?

Yes, I have personally used 100 weight Kanagawa silk threads for binding eyes to fishing rods. And my grandchildren have also used it on their rods beginning with their first fishing rod. I used a rod wrapping jig and the 100 weight silk. You just need to take some care with it so as to not snap the thread in the middle of a wrap. Kanagawa 30 weight and 50 weight silks are also used for this application and are stronger. These threads work equally well with bobbins. Do not use the @8 silk thread as it too highly twisted.

What silk thread is the strongest?

The short answer from the strongest / thickest to the weakest / thinnest silk threads it is #8 Silk > #30 Silk > #50 Silk > #100 Silk. But to better understand why, it is helpful to understand some thread terminology.

Weight – is a way of indicating the thickness of a thread. The most common weight system specifies the length of the thread in kilometers required to weigh 1 kilogram. Therefore, the higher the weight number, the thinner the thread.

Denier – is a weight specification that states how many grams 9,000 meters of the thread weighs. The greater the denier number, the thicker the thread. The denier weight system also specifies the number of strands of the specified weight which were wrapped together to make the finished thread.

Tex – is the mass in grams of 1,000 meters of thread. If 1,000 meters weighs 25 grams, it is tex 25. The larger the Tex number, the larger the thread.

	Tex	Weight	Denier
#8 Silk	105	8	1000
#30 Silk	60	30	567
#50 Silk	27	50	243
#100 Silk	12	100	125

What size needle do I needle to use with silk thread?

That, obviously, varies with the size of the silk thread so while I am at it, I may as well provide some additional information on each silk thread.

	Machine Needle	Available Colors	Applications
#8 Silk	90 – 100	100	Topstitching, Quilting, Beading Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Cross Stitch and Other Embellishments
#30 Silk	90 – 100	35	Hand Buttonholes, Topstitching, and Quilting; Rod Wrapping and Fly Tying
#50 Silk	80 – 90	88	Construction, Machine Quilting, and Embroidery; Rod Wrapping and Fly Tying
#100 Silk	60 – 70`	67	Machine Quilting, Hand or Machine Appliqué; Rod Wrapping and Fly Tying

Can I machine wash an application made with silk thread?

Well you can wash it anyway you want, but I would not recommend it. My wife tells me to hand wash and drip dry or dry clean anything made with silk thread. And I trust and listen to my wife. The internet contains many articles on how to wash silk; so use the online references.