 The easiest silk to work with came from breeds of silk worms that spun their cocoons so that it could be unwound in one long strand.The reeling, or unwinding of silk worm cocoons is started by placing the cocoons in boiling water in order to break apart the silk filaments as well as kill the silk worm pupae.Women would then find the end of the strands of silk by sticking their hand into the boiling water.