KASHMIRI SHAWL
About Kashmir Shawls it is said “Of all Indian textiles none excels in beauty, colour, texture and design as the famous Kashmir Shawl”. Shawls in Kashmir are produced by two techniques, loom woven or kani shawls and the needle embroidered or sozni shawls. Kani weave shawls are beautiful recreations of nature-inspired designs using a very fine twill tapestry technique, and it can take several years to produce just one piece. Sozni embroidery uses thin needles and silk threads to create elaborate floral or paisley patterns on Pashmina shawls and stoles. The colourful motifs are so meticulously hand-embroidered that the Pashmina base is barely visible. The basic fabric used here is of the three types – Shah Tush, Pashmina and Raffal. Shah Tush (King of wool) passes through a ring and is also known as Ring shawl. It comes from a rare Tibetan antelope living at a height of over 14000 ft in the wilds of the Himalayas.
Pashmina is known to the world over as cashmere wool, it comes from a special goat (Capra hircus) living at an altitude of 12000 to 14000 ft reared by shepherd nomads around famous pongkong lake in close vicinity of western Tibet. The word Pashmina has been derived from the word “Pashm” which literally means soft gold. Introduced in the 14th century in the valley, Kashmiri Pashmina is believed to be the finest of all Pashminas in the world. Raffal is spun out of Marino wool. The micron of the wool used is mainly between 19-21 which guarantees that the fabric will not cause any problems with itch or prickle against delicate skin. It’s warm but very light in weight, “Raffal” wraps do not crease which makes them ideal for travelling.
