Tuesday, October 18, 2011

What is Pashmina?

By Agus Rahman


Once a status symbol owned only by a choose few, bright accents of pashmina are the most distinctive between accessories to the affluent woman's urban uniform. Carrie Bradshaw sported one on HBO's "Sex in the City" and women's magazines like Redbook and InStyle have been touting the fabric as a must-have for months. Until recently, pashmina shawls cost upward of $300-$400; now they are obtainable for significantly less. Available at upscale stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and boutiques alike,.

For this reason what is Pashmina?

Pashmina wool is revered for the reason that of it rarity and quality, especially in the western world. This luxury fiber has softness equal to or greater than cashmere. Pashmina wool holds color beautifully, is amid highest quality wools, and is very lightweight.

From the Persian pashmineh or pashm description wool, pashmina refers to a specifically fine type of cashmere wool. This wool comes from the underbelly of the changthangi or pashmina goat, a exceptional breed indigenous to high altitudes of the Himalayas uncovered primarily in Kashmir and Nepal.

The goat sheds its winter coat every spring. One goat sheds approximately 3-8 ounces of the fiber. Harvesting the fiber once meant combing the mountains surrounding Nepal or Kashmir to find the shed wool of the goats, frequently caught on thorn bushes. Thus, collections were minimal.

Due to the fact pashmina wool accessories established the fashion world on fire in the 1990s, efforts have been successfully produced to raise the mountain goat in the Gobi Desert place in Inner and Outer Mongolia too. With very identical weather patterns, the Mongolian import now is an excellent origin for pashmina wool. The quality of the wool produced in the Gobi Desert is just as high as that produced in the Himalayas, however , the costs are significantly less.

Pashmina accessories are available in a range of sizes, from "scarf" (approx. 12" x 60") to "wrap" or "stole" (approx. 28" x 80") to full sized shawl (approx. 36" x 80"). Pashmina has to be compared to cashmere. Unlike cashmere, it is a blended fabric.. Cashmere may be harvested through a process of combing the goat, which results in slightly coarser wool. Cashmere is very soft, however it does not have the sheen that the silk threads lend to pashmina wool.

Pure pashmina is generally a gauzy, open weave, as the fiber cannot tolerate extermely high tension. In the mountains of Nepal and India, local weavers knead, dye and combine pashmina goat hairs, finer than cashmere, with silk to give the material durability and luster. The most funky pashmina fabric is a 70% pashmina/30% silk blend, though 50/50 is as well normal. The blends are tightly woven, have an elegant sheen and drape nicely, while maintaining the softness and lightweight texture. Scarves and shawls that are 100% pashmina are typically of a looser weave without the sheen provided by the silk threads.




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