What Does 25 Momme Grade 6A Mulberry Silk Mean?

Momme is weight. Grade is filament quality. Mulberry describes the fibre source. Charmeuse is the weave. Four separate specifications, often run together on a label. Here is what each one actually measures.

Momme (mm)

Momme is a unit of weight for silk, in the way that thread count is a measure for cotton. It describes how much a standard bolt of the fabric weighs — so a higher momme means a denser, heavier weave and, generally, a more substantial and durable fabric.

For context, silk garments often sit in the high teens; silk bedding is commonly 19–25 momme. A 25 momme fabric is dense. It drapes with weight rather than floating, and it stands up to being laundered regularly.

Grade (6A)

Silk is graded by the length, uniformity and consistency of its filaments, on a scale that runs from roughly C up through A, AA, AAA and onward to 6A. Grade 6A is the top of that scale: the longest and most uniform filaments, which produce a smoother, more even fabric with fewer irregularities.

Worth knowing: grading conventions are set by industry practice rather than by a single regulatory body, so "6A" is a supplier specification, not a certification.

Mulberry

Mulberry silk comes from silkworms fed exclusively on mulberry leaves, raised in controlled conditions. That controlled diet is what produces long, uniform, pale filaments. Wild silks — tussah, for instance — come from moths with varied diets, and are typically shorter-fibred, more textured and more irregular in colour.

Charmeuse

Charmeuse is a weave, not a fibre. It is a satin weave that leaves most of the filament floating on the face of the fabric, which is what gives charmeuse its smooth, lightly lustrous surface and its matte reverse. It is the reason a silk face cloth feels flat and slippery rather than raised, the way cotton terry does — a difference explored in Silk face cloth vs. cotton face towel.

Putting it together

"Double-layer 25 momme Grade 6A mulberry silk charmeuse" therefore means: two layers of a dense, heavyweight fabric, woven in a smooth satin weave, from the longest and most uniform grade of silk produced by mulberry-fed silkworms.

Two layers matter for a face cloth specifically — a single layer of charmeuse is thin, and doubling it gives the cloth body and enough substance to take up water.

What the numbers don't tell you

Specifications describe a fabric. They do not describe an effect on skin, and we make no claim that they do. A higher momme or grade means a denser, more uniform, more durable textile — nothing more than that.

Continue reading

• What is a silk face cloth?
• How to wash a mulberry silk face cloth — keeping a 25 momme weave in good condition
• Why silk, and not a towel

The SEDA Silk Ritual Cloth is double-layer 25 momme Grade 6A mulberry charmeuse, 18 × 10.5 in →