Kashmiri Pashmina has been the glory of Indian handicraft for many centuries. The cashmere measuring between 12-15 microns in fibre thickness is the finest wool ever made! Creating an authentic pashmina involves many steps and utmost precision. Let’s dive into the world of Pashmina craftsmanship and know how it is made-
Collecting the Raw Material
Pashmina wool is exclusively sourced from Changthangi goats found in the high plateaux of Ladakh. Himalayan farmers climb up into the mountains to carefully hand comb the soft fleece of these goats to collect the delicate fibres of Pashmina wool.
Turning Raw Wool Into Yarn
After collecting the raw material, the cleaning process gets started. A detailed cleaning by hand- combing these delicate fibres is done to make sure not a single impurity invades the quality of Pashmina wool. The combing procedure is executed by the impaling dehaired raw pashmina, repeatedly on an upright comb. The yarn, after drying in the sun, is wound on wooden spindles called Prech in Kashmiri. With the help of Parota, the pashmina yarn is wound on a small flange ribbon.
Hand Spinning and Handweaving
The warp is made by manually winding the pashmina yarn across 4 to 8 iron rods erected on the ground. The yarn of this wool is then carefully hand spun by thousands of highly skilled artisans across Kashmir. The spun yarn is used as a warp and the thick yarn as a weft. For weaving, a special kind of handloom is used to prepare luxurious Pashmina shawls, which take approximately three to four days.
Finishing
Depending on the requirement, the colour of the pashmina is dyed and then washed in the spring water to remove the grease, dust, and other sorts of impurities. The final step is to make the edges uniform by making fringes.
The entire process has many stages, and it demands thoroughness and precision. It is safe to say that making a pashmina is as same as extracting a pearl from the seashell. We have a range of vibrant coloured Pashmina wraps with a luxurious look and an elegant fall; please view our collection at https://www.urzuv.com/product-category/plain-wraps/pashminas/
