"Pashmina" – What exactly is that?
Winter is here and the memories of summer are fading away. With the cooler weather comes our desire to wrap ourselves in warm layers. Bombay Birds , our independent Swiss brand for conscious Luxury and Slow Fashion , we present you the perfect accessory to complete your winter wardrobe: the «Pashmina» scarf!
The fiber
The word "Pashmina" is often considered an eternal gift from higher gods and comes from the Persian word "pasima", which literally means "made of wool". The wool used to make our shawls comes from the semi-nomadic Changpa or Champa people who live mainly in the Changtang region bordering Tibet and Ladakh. Unlike many other nomadic groups, the Changpa are not under pressure from settled farmers as most of their land is too inhospitable for agriculture. Their livelihood depends on their animals, particularly the Changra goats, which are bred not for their meat but for their fine wool (pashm).
The «Pashmina» fiber is considered to be the finest fiber of all goat hair. The diameter is between 12 and 15 micrometers, while commercially available cashmere fibers are more than 19 micrometers. At altitudes of around 4,300 meters, the harsh environment of the Himalayas the Changra goats to produce fibers of exceptional fineness and warmth to protect themselves from the harsh winters.
«Pashmina» wool is generally referred to as cashmere It is therefore not surprising that the term cashmere was used by European colonial rulers to describe the products of this region.
The process of «Pashmina» production
In spring the Wool the goats are sheared and sold. After shearing, the wool grows back until the next winter. Almost all steps in the production process have specific names in Kashmir :
- Combing : At the beginning of spring, the goats lose their fur, and during this period they are combed by the shepherds of the tribes to collect the wool.
- Dedusting : The raw wool is freed from foreign fibres.
- Dehairing : This is where the fine wool is separated from the outer hair. The tribes use the raw hair for their personal use and sell the fine undercoat.
- Treatment with rice : The fine wool is treated with crushed rice and water to strengthen the delicate fibers.
- Spinning : The wool is transformed into yarn, traditionally manually on a spinning wheel.
- Hand spooling : The yarn is doubled or tripled as needed.
- Washing : The yarn is washed in river water to prepare it for dyeing.
- Dyeing : Depending on the requirements, specialised dyers known as Rangers dye the yarn. At Bombay Birds we only use AZO-free dyes.
- Making spools : The yarn is rolled into small spools to be used by the weavers.
- Treatment with starch : To give the yarn strength, it is dipped in rice water again.
- Winding the yarn : The starchy yarn is wound onto wooden spindles.
- Production of the warp : «Pashmina» yarn is wound manually on iron rods.
- Preparing the warp : The warp worker, also called “Bharangur”, prepares the warp for the loom.
- Weaving : The «Pashmina» shawl is woven by an artisan , the “Wovur”.
- Washing : The fabric is washed in running spring water.
- Finishing : Excess threads are trimmed to complete the final product.
- Finishing the edges : Finally, the edges are finished to create fine fringes.
All these steps go into the design of your warm and luxurious «Pashmina» scarf from Bombay Birds .
Conclusion
Get a piece from our collection that you like and let yourself be transported to the artisanal oasis of the snow-capped Himalayas and the wonderful warmth of a "Pashmina" . Bombay Birds stands for conscious luxury and the principles of slow fashion – one more reason to rely on our high-quality products!