Golden Tapestry Created From Spider Silk

This is not your everyday knee-warmer.

Woven entirely out of spider silk, a shimmering, 11-by-4 foot golden tapestry has gone on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

According to the museum's Web site, the spectacular textile is the brainchild of British art historian Simon Peers, who studied previous attempts to use spider silk to produce fabric.

More than 1 million golden orb spiders from Madagascar were "silked" to produce enough thread to weave the stunning tapestry, the museum said. To extract the surprisingly durable thread, a special harness was used to hold the spiders in place.

It took 70 hired workers four years to make the tapestry, the museum said, at an approximate cost to Peers of $500,000.

Believed to be the only one of its kind in the world, the cashmere-soft creation will be on view at the American Museum of Natural History until traveling to London next year.