All About Silk -
written and illustrated by Julie Parker, (Fabric Reference Series), Rain City Publishing, 2000 
All About Silk is a plain speaking, quality, information packed book. It tells you exactly everything you want and need to know about silk fabrics.
She was frustrated with conflicting textile definitions, confusing content labels, vague terms and industry jargon, so Julie Parker decided to learn more. “When I pay $30 a yard for 3 yards of silk, I want to make that purchase with confidence in my ability to choose the right fabric.” (from the introduction to All About Silk)
The Contents page tells the reader what they will find in the book then efficiently and logically lays it all out.
For example, 32 silk fabric types are described, each on two pages, with “detailed description of the fabric and how it is made, a small sample of a typical version of the fabric, a mini vocabulary of similar fabrics, terms that need more explanation, the fabric’s sewing characteristics, wearability, its price, care, etc. Each page has a Post It style note with descriptions of yarns, weaves, finishes, special effects, bits of history and other tidbits of information.” (from the Introduction) There are even“blank swatches” so you may insert your own swatches of silk and make personal notations.
The facts are cross referenced with information about the seven categories of silk, six influential silk producing countries, care of silk, characteristics of silk, silk weaves, types of yarn, special effects and miscellaneous notes about silk. All About Silk gives Sources for Shopping, Glossary of Terms and a Bibliography.
Listen to the Critics: “Unlike many textile reference books, All About Silk is understandable and not at all dry. The attractive layout of the book should win an award for clarity and ease of use.” Teri Hales, Sewer’s SourceLetter
“Something about this book drew me into opening the cover, and from that point on I was hooked! This is no ordinary fabric dictionary. It is a visually beautiful book, enticing the reader with a clear layout, interesting graphics and best of all, large beautiful fabric swatches!” Vivian Poon, Costume Society of America
Julie Parker is the award winning author of All About Cotton and All About Wool. She and her husband live in Seattle, Washington.
See my book report on Katy Widgers New Color Wheel Dyeing