Pashmina Wrap

Pashmina wool is probably the best and the finest quality wool in the world. It is also called cashmere wool. The name pashmina has been derived from Persian word ‘pasham’ which also means wool. This wool comes from Changthangi or pashmina goat, which is a special breed. It is found on high altitude areas of Himalayas. This wool has been used for thousands of years to make high quality wraps or shawls that are also known by the same name, pashmina. The goats shed their wooly coat in spring whose fibers are caught on thorns of the bushes. The pashmina wraps or shawls have been manufactured in Kashmir and Nepal for thousands of years. Pashmina wraps are also known as Kashmiri wool shawls. The finest pashmina wraps are so fine that they can pass through a wedding ring.

Since the demand for pashmina wraps is increasing worldwide, the same species of goats are now being reared in Gobi desert areas of Inner and Outer Mongolia as this region’s harsh winter conditions are akin to those in the higher regions of the Himalayas.

The pashmina wool is extremely delicate and its thickness is around 14-16 microns. Since it is too thin to be spun by the textile machinery, it is spun by skilled craftsmen with their hands. The work needs to be done very slowly and carefully. Therefore a craftsman can hardly spin more than twenty grams of pashmina in the whole day. It takes a workman around a fortnight to spin pashmina wool to make one just one shawl. The work does not finish here. The wrap is then cleaned and hand dyed according to specified colors. Only natural dyes are used for coloring the shawl. Thereafter the fringes are hand twisted and knotted to create an elegant finish in the shawl. A pashmina shawl takes an average of 200 man-hours before it is approved for quality assurance and shipped for sale.