Spiders at work

Take this link to article about the largest garment ever made from spider silk:

The Golden Orb spider – with its leg span as big as a hand – is common in Madagascar. Although other species can be “silked”, the Golden Orb’s silken threads are beyond compare. This month, a V&A exhibition showcases the cape, as well as objects telling the remarkable history of spider-silk weaving.

It has one especially appealing feature. “It’s like an invisibility cloak,” says Godley, “because you can’t feel spider silk.” I test this by holding my palms out, eyes closed. When asked whether either or both hands hold part of the cape, I can’t tell. “If we hadn’t made the cape,” says Peers, “this silk would be webs in the wind. That’s part of the magic. It’s something so ephemeral and yet somehow we’ve managed to capture it.”