https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/pashmina-1 Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Sat, 16 May 2026 20:38:07 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/pashmina-1#post-844573 Sat, 09 Feb 2013 23:00:09 +0000 flowergirl 844573@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hello k can shop,</p> <p>I really think it comes down to personal preference as far as the type of mix .. whether silk/wool or silk/cashmere. </p> <p>A pure cashmere scarf is machine made on the power loom. It is cheaper as there is no labour cost. The scarf is much lighter but it is very delicate. Thus, silk is added to give strength and durability.The percentage of silk/cashmere varies and it comes down to preference again. The softness of silk and cashmere is a great combination. </p> <p>As for a pashmina, more pashmina yarn is needed for the birds eye weave and the design comes from the unique use of warp and weft threads when on the loom. This creates a dense weave. This weave adds strength, allowing for the pashmina scarf/shawl to be extremely light while extremely pull-resistant. A pure cashmere scarf is not pull resistant. I have cashmere birds eye weave scarves. A denser cashmere yarn is used but the weave makes the scarf heavier and more durable. </p> <p> It takes 22 days to weave a pashmina by hand loom. So it is very labour intensive, thus the price is more expensive. In my opinion, a pashmina or a birds eye weave cashmere is a much better choice than a pure cashmere scarf. </p> <p>In a pure cashmere scarf, you should be able to see a weave like gauze. That is the key to finding out if you have a genuine cashmere. It is very soft and extremely light weight. </p> <p>As for the birds eye weave, it is often associated with pure pashmina scarves. Just like herringbone on fine wool garments. It is associated with the pure skill of the weaver and has great artistic value. </p> <p>The birds eye weave or "eye of the nightingale" is a re-occuring pattern in North India and Kashmir and you can see this on many woven garments and other items such as handbags, glass ware etc. The nightingale’s eye is an important motif in Islamic story and beyond. It looks like a diamond shape with a dot in the middle. If you look at a nightingale, you can see a diamond shape around the eye. The nightingale is a much loved bird in India for its song and beauty. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/pashmina-1#post-843310 Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:32:53 +0000 K. Period. 843310@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Flowergirl, tell me more about the scarves on your website. (Yes, I couldn't help it. I clicked through.) I really love my pashmina blends. I have a hard time describing how much softer and loftier the wool is than regular cashmere or sheep's wool. I think you have to touch it to really appreciate it. I haven't seen printed ones before, so the ones you have are a surprise and delight. (I didn't add earlier that I knit, so I've seen pure pashmina yarn and it was breathtaking.)</p> <p>Also, what causes the bird's eye pattern? My two have that and I always wondered what it was about the yarn that made it occur. Is it the twist in the yarn thread? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/pashmina-1#post-843116 Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:39:27 +0000 flowergirl 843116@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Here are more examples of pashmina scarves. The first one is pashmina scarves, undyed. These can be in an off white or a buff colour. The other is a pashmina with stripes in solid colours. The last two are solid dyed. The more expensive pashmina is the hand embroidered, which usually hundreds of pounds for even the wholesale price. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/pashmina-1#post-843076 Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:20:12 +0000 flowergirl 843076@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yes the scarf I have posted is misleading. </p> <p>A true pashmina scarf can only be hand spun because it is made of pashmina yarn, the finest of cashmere yarn, coming from the Cashmere goat in Kashmir. </p> <p>The Pashmina yarn diameter is finer than in cashmere yarn, thus is can only be hand loomed. It cannot be power loomed as the threads will break. You will always see a distinct birds eye weave pattern. </p> <p>A true pashmina is never mixed with silk. It is very labour intensive to create a pashmina scarf and even more expensive if hand embroidery is added. It takes 200 hours to create a hand loomed pashmina scarf or shawl. The length varies and it can be 200 cm by 70 or 100 by 200 cm etc. </p> <p>The key is the weave. If you hold a true pashmina to the light, it will always have an uneven weave as this is from the hand loom.</p> <p> A true pashmina does not have any fringes as fine pashmina yarn cannot be gathered to make a fringe. You will always see a natural fringe. If there is a fringe, it is combined with silk or other fibres . This also goes for a 100 % cashmere scarf. </p> <p>Also, a true pashmina or cashmere scarf will have a very dull colour, not shiny. IF a scarf looks shiny, other fibres have been added and most probably it is not hand loomed. </p> <p>I often send scarves from cashmere manufactures for testing if I am not sure about the cashmere/pashmina content and it is important to do regular batch testing to make sure that manufacturers are consistent with quality. </p> <p>Cashmere and pashmina testing is very pain staking and it is an expensive process as it costs £250 per scarf for testing. Even more if other fibres are found. </p> <p>In the photo I have pure pashmina scarves . You can see the uneven weave. You can see photos of pure cashmere yarn and a photo of a pashmina scarf being made in a hand loom. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/pashmina-1#post-842746 Fri, 08 Feb 2013 01:47:54 +0000 Aida 842746@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>What Manidipa said! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/pashmina-1#post-842537 Thu, 07 Feb 2013 22:44:51 +0000 K. Period. 842537@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think it originally started out as meaning a 100% super soft finest grade wool from a particular animal (can't remember if sheep or goat, but I think goat because cashmere is goat too, right?). I received one as a gift from my DH when they first started coming out. (Remember when Gwyneth Paltro was the new young starlet who first made waves wearing one with a gown for an awards show for Emma? Wow. I feel old now.) Mine was a blended one that they were very careful to point out was not 100% pashmina, but rather a blend of pashmina and silk. Anymore, its meaning has migrated to mean a rectangular wool or wool blend or even synthetic shawl. The real ones are spectacular and expensive. Even my blended real ones are spectacular. My first is nearly ten years old and it is still incredibly soft and luxurious. I'm wearing my second one (another gift from DH) in my WIW for the scarf challenge today. </p> <p>Actually just wiki'd it and it looks like it is from a specific breed of goat. So yup, meaning has drifted, but it started out as a very specific thing. And it involves goat. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashmina" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashmina</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/pashmina-1#post-842432 Thu, 07 Feb 2013 21:06:00 +0000 Caro in Oz 842432@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Couldn't put it better than ManidipaM. The cashmere ones are very, very light. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/pashmina-1#post-842199 Thu, 07 Feb 2013 17:32:44 +0000 Thistle 842199@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>What MandipaM said! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/pashmina-1#post-842193 Thu, 07 Feb 2013 17:28:28 +0000 ManidipaM 842193@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I understand pashmina to mean a cashmere scarf, with a silk blend. It derives from 'pashm', meaning 'wool' in Persian, and I don't think it's just patriotic pride that leads me to believe the best examples come out of Kashmir. I find a 70/30 blend particularly lovely, though of course the 50/50s are cheaper (I hesitate to say 'affordable' for a real pashmina).</p> <p>It's usually a larger size of scarf --- at least a 'stole' or 'wrap', if not a 'shawl' --- and a fine gauge, making it both warm and light. Makes them perfect for travel, as Tracina says --- they fold up tiny and yet pack a lot of warmth.</p> <p>Of course, 'fauxmina' is more common these days, usually made with viscose and other synthetics as a blend or pure.</p> <p>But the picture you added just says 'silk scarf' to me, not 'pashmina' or even 'fauxmina' I'm afraid. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/pashmina-1#post-841963 Thu, 07 Feb 2013 11:58:00 +0000 Anonymous 841963@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I don't know the official definition but to me "Pashmina" means big scarf. I have two. Being petite I think one of mine overwhelms me but I like it for air travel. It's so soft (silk/cashmere), light weight, cozy. I can use it as a scarf or a blanket. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/pashmina-1#post-841961 Thu, 07 Feb 2013 11:54:36 +0000 Karie 841961@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>True Pashmina's are made of fine cashmere wool or silk, and can be expensive. Maybe this will help:</p> <p><a href="http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-pashmina.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-pashmina.htm</a></p> <p>What you have is very pretty! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/pashmina-1#post-841932 Thu, 07 Feb 2013 09:52:38 +0000 transition 841932@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>My mom gave me one for Christmas, but I haven't tried to style it. I don't wear scarves either. It probably has something to do with the idea that big, bulky, non-washable items aren't a good fit for either the mom-on-the-go with a 2 and 4 year old OR the professional business woman who has to wear to wear suits everyday parts of my lifestyle. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/pashmina-1#post-841930 Thu, 07 Feb 2013 09:43:14 +0000 flowergirl 841930@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am curious to find out what "Pashmina" means to you?</p> <p>Do you own a pashmina? </p>