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How Pashmina is Made?

Pashmina is known to be in use for almost a thousand years. Made from a special kind of wool, Pashmina shawls were worn by members of the royal family in ancient times. The charm of the Pashmina remains, as it is still one of the most sought after shawls. Known for its sheer quality, lightness, grace and warmth, the Pashmina shawl has a global demand most other shawls cannot match up to.

Pashmina, as it is known as Cashmere shawl too, has been traditionally woven by families involved in the business for generations. The intricacies of the embroidered designs have been handed down from one generation to the next. These traditional weavers are responsible for keeping this art form alive and maintaining the high standards that Pashmina is associated with. The wealth of information and knowledge accumulated for centuries in a weaver’s family passes on to the next generation, which has helped the Pashmina shawl to improve further in design and pattern. Although traditional designs are being pursued with, experimentation with modern patterns is not new with each generation.

Pashmina embroidery designs have been the richer owing to the experiments carried out by creative weavers. The pashm (wool) is obtained from the Himalayan goat (Capra hircus) that inhabits mountains around 15000 ft above sea level. The temperature, which is around -30º centigrade, ensures a thick growth of high quality pashm on these goats. Since the pashm is many times finer (12 microns) than human hair, it cannot be spun over machines. Experiments were carried out to weave the pashmina fabric in Europe, but it failed.

For this reason, the fabric is hand woven to produce a shawl. A full sized shawl (36” x 80”) requires around 24 ounces of wool, which is equivalent to the amount four goats produce in one year. The amount of embroidery determines the cost of a shawl. A party pashmina might have lighter embroidery in comparison to a bridal pashmina shawl. Weavers prepare shawls keeping in mind the various occasions they are normally worn on.