Royal Bhaktapur
Sustainable Luxury
How Pashmina Is Made
All Cashmere wool is hand spun, primarily in the regions of Kashmir and Nepal, where such wool has been made for thousands of years. Every spring Changthangi goats will shed their soft winter coats, and weavers work to painstakingly collect the wool shed from each goat, each Pashmina requires the under fur of at least two goats. These goats will live at altitudes of 12,000 to 17,000 feet.
It’s important to note that better quality fiber comes from goats that live in the higher altitudes, because their fur is much softer and dense and insulates better than the slightly coarser under fur found in goats from lower altitudes.
WOVEN CRAFTSMENSHIP
High quality Pashminas are always handspun, with weavers using different combinations of Cashmere with other fibers to produce Pashminas of gradated value. Each shawl is individually hand woven and hand dyed. Many Pashmina weavers choose to use patterned artistry to adorn their scarves, stoles and shawls, with everything from floral filigree to animal patterns, and even modern fashion trends like Burberry.
ISN’T IT JUST WOOL?
You may be asking yourself at this point “Why choose a more expensive shawl when you can buy one that’s cheaper, just simply with less wool?” Even though silk may seem like a hot commodity, there’s a reason Pashminas have been mentioned in history since the 3rd century B.C.
Just imagine that if a Changthangi goat’s thin layer of insulating wool is fine enough to keep it warm at -20 Fahrenheit, how nice and comfy do think it’ll feel when turned into a beautifully hand-woven scarf just for you? Even though silk is often expensive, it’s a whole lot easier to commercially produce than the wool from a Changthangi goat.
So when you’re shopping around for that perfect little Pashmina just for you and you find yourself indignant at the significantly higher price of a pure Cashmere versus a silk blended one, just think of a common little silk worm in comparison to the extremely difficult to procure downy under fur of a high altitude Himalayan mountain goat.
