Kashmir is known as the valley of the Himalayan Mountains with rich, ancient heritage of handloom craftsmanship. It is also a land of motifs and design techniques that have been transformed as well as perfected over the centuries.Mastering Kashmiri handloom craftsmanship takes a lot of years in training as well as designing shawls in an art that has been carried, through many generations of craftsmen. It is inspired from ancient techniques, many of the shawls and stoles are handwoven from the material. Kashmiri shawls are also primarily made of three types of fibres: wool, pashmina as well as silk which are great for trendy womens clothing boutique. The pashmina yarn, is famously known as ‘cashmere’, which comes from Himalayan goat hair, a rare breed of animal that is living above 4,000 metres altitude in Kashmir. Variety blends of Kashmiri wool with pashmina, and the silk with pashmina is also usedto weave the semipashmina shawls as well as stoles.
Some finest silks in the world come from Kashmir. Sericulture and tweed weaving are among the major industries in Kashmir. A matter of fact, untill the 1940s, this silk yarn produced in the Valley was to be exported all over the Europe.
Most handicrafts in Kashmir have always been traditionally run by family businesses. The Kashmiri women are quite closely involved with wool spinning as well as embroidery, men assist them in plying heavy handlooms. Once when the products are woven, the shawls are then sent to dyers and then go through the process of hand dyeing, which is basically done using the natural colours.Kashmiri shawls and stoles are always designed with most earthy colours, but recently, other colours are also being used. After dyeing is done, the shawls and the stoles go back to the craftsmen and they starts the very intricate process of designing with patterns using many different sizes of needles depending on the kinds.The best kashmiri wear to keep on your trendy womens clothing boutique.
Trendy Womens Clothing Boutique With Kashmiri Hand Woven Designs
1Ari embroidery
It is a form of embroidery, which is done by using thick needles, which can produce much larger pieces of designs in the shawls. Ari shawls and stoles, can be both hand as well as machine made. Designs, that is made of Kashmiri motifs is of the most traditional patterns, some collection of Ari stoles also includes a fusion of modern designs.
2Kani or loom-woven
Kani or loom-woven shawl takes at least weeks to a year for an artisan to complete that too depending on the embroidery. The shawl is then woven with a special wooden needle, that is called ‘kanis’ in Kashmir, and as a traditional handloom, the name “kani shawls”. The knots are made in according to the set of design, which is printed on the paper called the ‘taleem-e-kakud’. This process of weaving, done line by line is repeated time and again, until the masterpiece is ready finally.
3Solid stoles
Solid stoles are also available in many colours. The range of plain stoles is diversely blended with pure pashmina, wool-pashmina as well as silk-pashmina.
4Hand dyed shawls and stoles
Hand dyed shawls and stoles are made with interweaving different shades of threads as well as multiple dying. The stoles are basically made using the pashmina, cotton as well as Kashmiri silk.
5Kalamkari
It is a very different type of art that can involve the mix of the hand painted as well as embroidered designs. Kalamkari, in Urdu means “painting with hands”. Artisans always use natural colour dyes to paintdesignsaround the embroidered pattern. This art type is based on kani shawl designs.
6Sozni embroidery
Sozni embroidery is a form of embroidery, that is done by using thin needles and is also a very fine as well as accurate art which requires skill and the attention to the detail. Using the needles of many different sizes, one shawl can be worked on by many artisans and can also take time in between one month to a year to complete.
7Silk stoles
Silk stoles are a distinct type of stoles that are printed in Kashmiri patterns on the raw Kashmirisilk. This collection also include a combination of silk pashmina, silk, viscose and silk cotton. The collection of the printed stoles is also available in a wide variety of colours as well as types.
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