Pashmina wool is special because of its 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 among the highest quality wools, and is very light.
From the Persian pashmineh or pashm meaning wool, pashmina refers to a particularly fine type of cashmere wool. This wool comes from the underbelly of the changthangi or pashmina goat, a special breed indigenous to high altitudes of the Himalayas found 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.
Because pashmina wool accessories set the fashion world on fire in the 1990s, efforts have been successfully made to raise the mountain goat in the Gobi Desert area in Inner and Outer Mongolia as well. With very similar weather patterns, the Mongolian import now is an excellent source for pashmina wool. The quality of the wool produced in the Gobi Desert is just as high as that produced in the Himalayas, but the costs are much 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. Many believe the pashmina wool is far softer. Cashmere may be harvested through a process of combing the goat, which results in slightly coarser wool. Cashmere is very soft, though it does not have the sheen that the silk threads lend to pashmina wool.
Pure pashmina is often 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 popular pashmina fabric is a 70% pashmina/30% silk blend, but 50/50 is also common. 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 incredibly soft, but typically of a looser weave without the sheen provided by the silk threads.
From the Persian pashmineh or pashm meaning wool, pashmina refers to a particularly fine type of cashmere wool. This wool comes from the underbelly of the changthangi or pashmina goat, a special breed indigenous to high altitudes of the Himalayas found 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.
Because pashmina wool accessories set the fashion world on fire in the 1990s, efforts have been successfully made to raise the mountain goat in the Gobi Desert area in Inner and Outer Mongolia as well. With very similar weather patterns, the Mongolian import now is an excellent source for pashmina wool. The quality of the wool produced in the Gobi Desert is just as high as that produced in the Himalayas, but the costs are much 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. Many believe the pashmina wool is far softer. Cashmere may be harvested through a process of combing the goat, which results in slightly coarser wool. Cashmere is very soft, though it does not have the sheen that the silk threads lend to pashmina wool.
Pure pashmina is often 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 popular pashmina fabric is a 70% pashmina/30% silk blend, but 50/50 is also common. 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 incredibly soft, but typically of a looser weave without the sheen provided by the silk threads.
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