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| Home: Pashminas: Pashmina Encyclopaedia:
How a Pashmina is Made
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Pashmina
fiber from the Capra Hircus Goat
The Capra Hircus goat which is the
source of the pashmina fiber lives at elevations of 14,000 feet and above,
where temperatures rarely rise above minus 30 degrees centigrade in winter.
Pashmina is the goat's soft underbelly down, which lies under the coarse
outer hair. Each goat produces only about 3 ounces or 90 grams of Pashmina
wool each year. One woven Pashmina shawl requires the wool from three goats.
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Spinning
Pashmina Yarn
The pashmina fiber is collected every spring, and is
basically spun by hand. The yarn is spun on a spinning wheel locally known
as Charkha. Hand-spinning is an extremely painstaking task. It
requires immense patience, dexterity and dedication.
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Weaving
Pashmina Fabric
Pashmina yarn is too fragile for the vibration caused by
power looms, the weaving of the traditional pashmina shawls are therefore
done on handlooms. The weaving process is in itself an art, which has been
passed down over generations, to give us the fabulous pashmina shawls.
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Making
the Tassels
The making of the distinctive Pashmina
tassel is perhaps one of the most interesting stages of shawl making. The tassel of a pashmina shawl is hand twisted and knotted at
the ends.
It takes the weaver a couple of hours to
fringe each Pashmina shawl.
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Dyeing a Pashmina
Dyeing is also done by hand. Dyers with immense patience
and generations of experience are the ones who dye the Pashmina shawls, as
even the smallest negligence reflects on the quality of the product. Only
natural dyes are used, making the shawls completely eco-friendly. |
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