Fabric woven from wild silk is coarser than that made from reeled silk due to the thickness and unevenness of the thread.

Buddhist beliefs prohibit the taking of life, even accidentally, so cocoons were traditionally collected after the moth had emerged and broken the filaments. A soaked cocoon is attached to the spinning hook and teased out for spinning in the same way as cotton or wool. The resulting yarn is stiff and must be wetted regularly during the weaving process to keep it flexible.

Lengths of raw silk in a variety of stripes and plaids