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PASHMINA SHAWLS |
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PASHMINA |
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| Pashmina refers to a type of cashmere wool and textiles made from it. The name comes from Pashmina, made from Persian pashm (= "wool"). This wool comes from changthangi or pashmina goat—a special breed of goat indigenous to high altitudes of the Himalayas. The wool has been used for thousands of years to make high-quality shawls that also bear the same name. The goat sheds its winter coat every spring and the fleece is caught on thorn bushes. One goat sheds approximately 3-8 ounces of the fiber. The test for a quality pashmina has been warmth, feel and the passing of the shawl through a wedding ring. |
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Pashmina is an indigenous Nepali word which only became popular after the so-named shawls, woven in Nepal, started being popular in the west. What are commonly thought of as pashminas have their origin in Nepal, where the people have a cultural heritage of handweaving pashmina shawls with the well-known fringing and hand dyeing?
Pashmina accessories are available in a range of sizes, from "scarf" (12" x 60") to "wrap" or "stole" (28" x 80") to full size shawl (36" x 80"). Pure pashmina is a rather gauzy, open weave, as the wool cannot tolerate high tension. The most popular pashmina fabric is a 70% pashmina / 30% silk blend, but 50/50 is also common. The 70/30 is tightly woven, has an elegant sheen and drapes nicely, but is still quite soft and light-weight. |
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CASHMERE |
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| Cashmere is characterized by its soft fibers. For a natural goat fiber to be considered Cashmere, it must be under 18.5 micrometers in diameter and at least 3.175 centimeters long. It is noted as providing a natural light-weight insulation without bulk. Fibers are highly adaptable and are easily constructed into fine or thick yarns, and light to heavy-weight fabrics. Appropriate for all climates, a high moisture content allows insulation properties to change with the relative humidity in the air. |
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The finest fibers are gathered from the saddle of the Cashmere goat; most of the cashmere comes off of the sides and back, from the shoulder to the rump. It is a misconception that the finest fibers come from the neck and belly, as these parts most collect debris.
If the goat is shorn, the fiber must be "de-haired" to remove the coarse, unusable guard hair. Sometimes the fine fibers are collected by combing the goat; either method is time consuming and tedious, thus the high cost of cashmere. |
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NATURE OF COLOURS |
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The colors come in different ranges of grey, brown and white. |
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SOURCE OF FIBER |
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The Cashmere or goat down is the source of the wool that becomes cashmere fiber for clothing and other textile articles. The goat (Capra hircus laniger) is a mammal belonging to the subfamily Caprinae of the family Bovidae. The goats produce a double fleece consisting of the fine, soft undercoat or under down of hair mingled with a straighter and much coarser outer coating of hair called guard hair. In order for the fine under down to be sold and processed further, it must first be de-haired. De-hairing is a mechanical process that separates the coarse hairs from the fine hair and after de-hairing the resulting "cashmere" is ready to be dyed and converted into yarn, fabrics and garments. |
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GEOGRAPHIC ORIGIN |
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The name is from the contested region of Kashmir. The cashmere products of this area first attracted the attention of Europeans in the early 1800s when India was under the British Raj. The goats reside predominantly in the high plateaus of Asia with the most significant populations being found in India's Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, Pakistan, Himalayan regions of Nepal, the northwestern provinces of China (Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Gansu, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Qinghai and Tibet), Mongolia and Iran (Kerman and Khorasan provinces). Many nations in that area rely on cashmere as a luxury product that is exportable for high profit. |
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RELATED KEYWORDS |
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Pashmina Shawls, PashminaShawls, Pashmina Shawl,PashminaShawl, Kashmir Pashmina Shawls, Shawls, Shawl, PashminaShawls India, Pashmina Shawls India |
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PASHMINA SHAWLS, PASHMINASHAWLS, PASHMINA SHAWL, PASHMINASHAWL, KASHMIR PASHMINA SHAWLS, SHAWLS, SHAWL, PASHMINASHAWLS INDIA, PASHMINA SHAWLS INDIA |
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