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Pure Kashmir · 15th Century Looms
The Making of Pashmina
Twenty ancient processes transform Himalayan fleece into the world's most treasured cashmere fabric
No other natural fiber can match Pashmina
in its lightness, fineness, warmth and elegance.
— The Golden Fiber of the Himalayas
The Golden Fiber
Pashmina is the extraordinarily fine, downy undercoat that grows beneath the outer hair of Changthangi goats — a feral breed native to the high plateaus of Ladakh and Kashmir, grazing at altitudes above 4,500 metres. To survive temperatures rivalling Siberia, these animals develop a fleece of incomparable fineness: 13–15 microns in diameter, making it the highest grade of cashmere in the world.
The Persians called it the Golden Fiber — Pashm — and the name has endured for centuries. With three times the insulating capacity of wool and a softness no machine-spun fibre can replicate, Pashmina occupies a category entirely its own in the world of textiles.
15th Century Looms
We use the same wooden looms that master weavers have worked for 500 years. No industrial machinery. No shortcuts. Each scarf takes 4-6 weeks of hand-weaving, creating a fabric with memory and character that mass production cannot replicate.
Preparing the Fleece
Before the Pashm can be spun into yarn, the raw fleece undergoes a meticulous preparation sequence unique to Kashmir. First it is dusted to remove all foreign matter, then dehaired — the single most critical step — which separates the ultra-fine Pashm from the coarser outer guard hair by hand, since no machine can do so without breaking the delicate fibres.
The cleaned wool is then treated with pounded rice water — called Thumb in Kashmiri — to strengthen the fibres for spinning. Rice water is used precisely because it is water-soluble and washes out completely without leaving residue, a technique refined over six centuries of practice.
From Fleece to Yarn
The first eight processes that transform raw Pashm into weavable yarn
Spinning
Pashmina was traditionally hand-spun on a charkha by skilled artisans, often women who mastered this delicate craft. Today, much of the spinning is done using specialised machines to ensure consistency and durability, as the fibres are extremely fine and require controlled tension. While the method has evolved, the artistry and care behind each shawl remain deeply rooted in Kashmir’s heritage.
Hand Reeling
The spun yarn, being extremely fine, is doubled or tripled using a hand reeler depending on the desired thickness of the final fabric. This gives the yarn the required weight and strength for weaving.
Washing
The doubled yarn is washed in clean river water to remove the rice starch and prepare the fibres for dyeing. Running water is preferred — it rinses thoroughly without mechanically stressing the delicate Pashm.
Hand Dip Dyeing
Specialist dyers called Ranger dye the yarn using only azo free ingredients. Only two colours occur naturally in raw Pashmina — white and shades of brown — all other colours are achieved through the dyer's art.
Making Bobbins
The dyed yarn is wound onto small bobbins. These bobbins will form the weft — the horizontal thread — on the handloom, interlacing with the vertical warp to create the woven fabric.
Treating with Starch
The yarn is again dipped in rice water starch — a process called Maya in Kashmiri — to strengthen it further for the rigours of handloom weaving, where the threads are subjected to repeated tension.
Winding — Tulun
After sun-drying, the starched yarn is wound onto wooden spindles called prech in Kashmiri. This process — called Tulun — prepares the warp yarn for the loom in precise, measured lengths.
Making the Warp — Yarun
The warp — the vertical foundation thread of the fabric — is made by manually winding Pashmina yarn across 4 to 8 iron rods erected in the ground in a specific formation. This process is called Yarun in Kashmiri.
Cashmere vs Pashmina — What's the Difference?
These terms are often used interchangeably in the market — but they are not the same thing. Cashmere is a broad category: fine wool obtained from various breeds of goat across multiple countries including China, Mongolia, Afghanistan, and Iran. Pashmina is a specific, elite subset of cashmere — and Kashmir Pashmina is the highest grade within that subset.
The distinction lies in fibre diameter and origin. Standard cashmere ranges from 15 to 19 microns. Kashmir Pashmina measures 13 to 15 microns — perceptibly softer, lighter, and warmer. The Changthangi goats of Ladakh, grazing at extreme altitude in some of the harshest conditions on earth, produce a fleece that no other breed or geography can replicate. This is not marketing — it is climate science and fibre biology.
Furthermore, the preparation of Kashmir Pashmina involves 20 specific processes that are unique to Kashmir — hand-spinning, hand-reeling, natural dyeing, and handloom weaving — none of which can be replicated by industrial processes. When you hold a genuine Pashmina shawl, you are holding something that no factory in the world is capable of producing.
From Yarn to Shawl
The final twelve processes — from dressing the loom to finishing the fringes
Dressing the Warp — Bharun
Before the warp can go on the loom it must be dressed by a specialist called Bharangur. The process — called Bharun — involves stretching and fixing the yarn through the heddles of the loom frame, called saaz in Kashmiri.
Weaving — Wonun
The shawl is woven by an artisan called Wovur on 15th-century-style handlooms. The weaver interlaces warp and weft by hand, controlling each thread individually. There is no automation — every millimetre of fabric is a deliberate human act.
Washing
Once woven, the fabric is washed again in running river water to remove the starch used in the weaving process, softening the fibres and revealing the characteristic drape and lustre of Pashmina.
Thread Finishing — Purz
During weaving, Pashmina thread inevitably breaks due to its fineness. The weaver joins broken threads by rolling them together, leaving protruding ends across the shawl. These are carefully clipped smooth in a process called Purz by a specialist called Puruzgar.
Final Washing
The shawl undergoes a final ceremonial wash in pure running river water with mild detergents — then struck repeatedly against a smooth stone by a specialist washer. This ancient finishing technique closes the weave and imparts the characteristic Pashmina hand-feel.
Finishing the Fringes
The final touch: raw fringes at both ends are hand-finished by a specialist called Andgour in a process called Andkadun. The fringe is the last signature of human hands on the shawl — an act of completion that marks the end of a journey six centuries in the making.
Puruzgar
During weaving, Pashmina thread inevitably breaks due to its fineness. The weaver joins broken threads by rolling them together, leaving protruding ends across the shawl. These are carefully clipped smooth in a process called Purz by a specialist called Puruzgar.
What is Pashmina Cashmere?
Pashmina is the finest grade of cashmere wool in the world, produced from the undercoat of Changthangi goats native to the high-altitude plateaus of Ladakh and Kashmir. The term "Pashmina" comes from the Persian word Pashm, meaning soft gold. It has been woven in Kashmir since the 15th century and traded across Persia, Europe, and the wider world for hundreds of years.
What makes Kashmir Pashmina unique is the combination of extreme altitude, severe climate, and a fibre-processing tradition specific to the region. The goats graze at 4,500 metres above sea level — high enough that the cold forces the development of an exceptionally dense, fine undercoat. This fibre is then processed through 20 hand-driven steps to produce the finished handwoven shawl — a process that cannot be replicated industrially or in any other geography.
Kashmir Pashmina is internationally recognised as the highest quality cashmere available — a designation earned not by marketing but by fibre science and centuries of craft heritage.
Pashmina vs Cashmere vs Merino — Compared
Why a Pashmina Shawl is the Ultimate Luxury Gift
For customers in the USA, UK, Canada, Europe & the Middle East
Wedding & Anniversary Gifts
A handwoven Pashmina cashmere shawl is among the most distinguished wedding gifts in the world. Warm, beautiful, and built to last a lifetime — it is the rare gift that becomes more precious with time.
Christmas & Holiday Season
Cashmere shawls are perennial Christmas bestsellers across the UK, USA, and Canada. A genuine handwoven Pashmina elevates the holiday gift far beyond the ordinary — luxurious, warm, and beautifully wrapped.
Corporate & Executive Gifting
For companies seeking culturally meaningful, high-quality gifts for senior executives and clients, a certified Pashmina shawl communicates taste, discernment, and generosity — far beyond the generic gift hamper.
Mother's Day & Eid
In the Middle East and among South Asian communities in the UK, USA, and Canada, a handwoven Kashmiri Pashmina shawl for Eid or Mother's Day carries deep cultural meaning — a gift that honours both tradition and the recipient.
Milestone Birthdays
Unlike mass-produced luxury goods, each Pashmina shawl is singular — the product of months of artisan labour and centuries of tradition. For a significant birthday, it is a gift that marks the occasion with genuine weight and beauty.
A Generational Heirloom
Pashmina cashmere becomes softer and more beautiful with each wash and each year of wear. A quality shawl gifted today may be cherished by children and grandchildren decades from now — the definition of a meaningful gift.
Authenticity, Quality & Care
Every Pure Kashmir Pashmina comes with our unconditional guarantee
Handwoven in Kashmir
On 15th-century handlooms
100% Authentic Pashmina
20 Processes Unique to Kashmir
Worldwide Shipping
Free on orders over $200
MCA Registered
Officially registered in India
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Unconditional on authenticity
Timeless Luxury
Craftsmanship across centuries
Everything About Pashmina & Cashmere
All Pashmina is cashmere, but not all cashmere is Pashmina. Cashmere is a broad category covering fine wool from various goat breeds worldwide. Pashmina is a specific elite grade — 13 to 15 microns in diameter — from Changthangi goats in Ladakh and Kashmir. Kashmir Pashmina is the highest grade of cashmere available, processed through 20 hand-driven steps unique to the region, including hand-spinning and handloom weaving.
Genuine Pashmina is extraordinarily soft — softer than regular cashmere — and will warm your hand within seconds of contact. It should feel light yet enveloping.Be wary of suspiciously low prices: genuine handwoven Pashmina represents months of skilled artisan labour and cannot be produced cheaply.
A Kashmir Pashmina shawl is made through 20 distinct hand-driven processes: the raw fleece is combed from Changthangi goats in spring, then dusted, dehaired, and treated with rice water before hand-spinning on a traditional charkha. The spun yarn is doubled, washed, naturally dyed, made into bobbins, starched, and wound onto spindles before the warp is prepared. The shawl is then woven on a 15th-century-style handloom, washed, thread-finished, washed again, and finally hand-fringed. No industrial machine is involved in any step.
Genuine Pashmina is expensive for several compounding reasons: each goat yields only 300–500 grams of raw Pashm per year; the dehairing and spinning must be done entirely by hand; the weaving is done on traditional handlooms requiring great skill; and the full production cycle — from fibre to finished shawl — involves 20 separate specialist processes, often spread across multiple artisans. A single shawl may represent weeks to months of concentrated skilled labour. The price is a reflection of all of that reality.
Yes. Pure Kashmir ships Pashmina shawls worldwide — including to the USA, UK, Canada, Europe, Australia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and beyond. Every piece is carefully packaged and shipped with full documentation of authenticity. Free international shipping is available on orders over $200. All purchases come with an unconditional money-back guarantee on authenticity.
Hand wash gently in lukewarm water with a mild, pH-neutral detergent or baby shampoo. Never machine wash or wring. Rinse thoroughly and press gently in a towel, then lay flat to dry away from direct heat or sunlight. Store folded — never hung — in a breathable cotton bag with cedar for moth protection. Light pilling is natural and reduces over time; remove with a cashmere comb. For heavily embroidered pieces, dry cleaning is preferred.
Pure Kashmir offers a full range of handwoven Pashmina shawls including: plain and solid-colour Pashmina, Pashmina with Sozni needle embroidery (border, jaal, and full embroidery), Pashmina with Kani woven patterns, Pashmina checks and plaids, reversible Pashmina, and oversized travel wraps. All pieces are handwoven in Kashmir on traditional handlooms and ship worldwide.
The primary difference is size. A Pashmina shawl is typically large — approximately 100cm × 200cm — and is designed to be worn as a wrap around the shoulders or body. A Pashmina stole is narrower, approximately 70cm × 200cm, intended as a scarf or shoulder drape. A Pashmina scarf is smaller still. All three are made from the same quality Pashmina cashmere fabric and go through the same 20-step production process.
Kashmir Pashmina — A Six-Century Textile Legacy
The history of Kashmir's Pashmina shawl industry stretches back to the 15th century, when Sultan Zayn ul Abidin — known in Kashmir as Bud Shah, the Great King — invited weavers and craftsmen from Central Asia and Persia to settle in the valley and share their knowledge of weaving and embroidery. It was this cultural confluence that seeded what would become Kashmir's most celebrated craft tradition.
The Mughal emperors, particularly Akbar the Great, became the earliest and most powerful patrons of Kashmiri Pashmina. Akbar is said to have worn Pashmina daily and to have gifted shawls as diplomatic currency — an early indication of how prestigious the fabric had already become. European traders following Mughal court fashions brought Kashmiri shawls to the West in the 17th and 18th centuries, where they became objects of intense desire among the aristocracy of England, France, and the Netherlands.
The Paisley pattern — today universally associated with the Scottish town of Paisley — is in fact Kashmiri in origin: the keri or mango-drop motif of Kashmiri shawl design, reproduced in such demand by European mills during the 19th century that the Scottish town that mass-produced it eventually lent it its name. This cultural absorption — and the loss of attribution — is a recurring theme in the history of Kashmir's crafts, which have shaped global textile culture far more than they are given credit for.
Today, Pure Kashmir ensures that the full 20-step Pashmina production process is maintained with complete fidelity to the tradition. Customers purchasing from Pure Kashmir in the USA, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Australia, and New Zealand receive shawls that represent not only a luxury textile object but a direct continuation of one of the world's great craft legacies.
Wear six centuries of craft
Every Pashmina shawl from Pure Kashmir carries within it the full story of this extraordinary tradition — the mountains, the goats, the artisans, the centuries.
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