Fashion
The Making of
Cashmere Fabric
By Carrie Chen
T
he story of our scarves begins in the
Himalayan Mountains, home of the world’s
finest cashmere (the spelling is derived from
the ancient spelling of the region’s name,
Kashmir). Every spring, the hair – and it’s not
wool, but hair -- is hand combed from under
the neck of the Himalayan mountain goat
Chyangra (capra hircus laniger). The hair
grows in varying softness, but to make
cashmere, the soft, fine hair must be
separated from the thick coarser hair and
then taken for further processing.
Spinning
Cashmere yarn is spun by hand on a spinning
wheel, or Charkha. Prior to spinning, the raw
material must be stretched and cleansed to
remove any dirt. It is then soaked for a few
days in a mixture of rice and water in order
to soften it. Amazing to behold, hand
spinning is an extremely labor-intensive
process requiring immense patience,
dexterity and dedication.
Weaving
Cashmere yarn is too fragile for the
vibration caused by power looms, therefore
the weaving of traditional cashmere shawls
is done on handlooms. Weaving is itself an
art which has been passed down over
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example, it takes over four days to weave a
single cashmere shawl. It is essential for the
weaver to have a uniform hand for par
excellence fabric.
Dyeing
Dyeing must be done by hand; each shawl,
scarf etc. is dyed individually and with
immense patience by dyers with generations
of experience. Only metal-free dyes are
used. Dyeing is done at a t V