Momme
Also searched as: mm, momme weight, monme, mommie, silk weight
Momme is a traditional Japanese-derived unit used to express silk fabric weight; one momme corresponds to about 4.34 grams per square meter.
In detail
Momme began as a Japanese unit of mass, fixed at 3.75 grams in the Meiji era, and the silk trade adopted it as a fabric weight grade. In English-language trade it is commonly defined as the weight in pounds of a silk piece 45 inches wide and 100 yards long, which works out to about 4.34 g/m2 per momme. Higher momme means more silk per unit area, which often goes with greater opacity and body.
The science and numbers
The conversion can be checked arithmetically. A piece 45 inches by 100 yards measures about 1.143 m by 91.44 m, or about 104.5 m2. One pound is about 453.6 g, so 453.6 divided by 104.5 gives roughly 4.34 g/m2 for each momme, or about 3.62 grams per square yard. The original mass unit, 3.75 g, is a separate quantity: momme as a mass unit and momme as a silk weight grade share a name but not dimensions. Because silk is often degummed after weaving, and degumming removes sericin mass, the stage at which a fabric is weighed affects the figure. Laboratory confirmation uses an ordinary mass-per-area method on conditioned specimens.
A practical example
A buyer compares a 19 momme charmeuse with a 22 momme charmeuse. Multiplying by about 4.34 gives roughly 82 g/m2 and 95 g/m2. The difference is about 15 percent more silk per square meter in the heavier fabric. That is a meaningful mass difference, but the buyer still needs to compare weave, yarn and finishing before predicting drape or durability.
What to distinguish
Momme is a weight measure only; it does not state weave, thread count, fiber grade or whether sericin has been removed. It is mainly meaningful for silk, where trade practice defines it, and applying it to other fibers invites confusion. Small differences in quoted conversion factors, such as 4.33 versus 4.34 g/m2, reflect rounding rather than different units.
Origins and history
The monme belonged to the traditional Japanese system of weights and served as both a unit of mass and a monetary weight. During the Meiji era it was fixed at exactly 3.75 grams. Its use as a silk grade carried over into international trade, where the fabric-grade definition used in English-language commerce recasts it in inches, yards and pounds. Trade literature is inconsistent about the precise history, so treat detailed origin stories with caution.
Related terms
Sources & further reading
- Wikipedia: Momme (unit)
- Sartor Bohemia: Momme, traditional unit of silk weight
- ASTM (via iTeh Standards): D3776/D3776M-20 Standard Test Methods for Mass Per Unit Area (Weight) of Fabric
Technical references reviewed 2026-09-22. Examples are illustrative. Industry organizations and manufacturers describe their own fields; their references are not independent product endorsements. Figures are approximate and depend on the stated test conditions.