Cashmere, one of the best natural fibres known to occupy, evokes images of soft, delicate luxury mixing the apparent enigma of warmth and lightness.
Originating in Kashmir, high in the mountains of the Himalayas, cashmere is known by its authentic name, pashmina. The word pashmina is much misused, today being adopted to describe scarfs and scarves of diverse mixes of wool, silk, cashmere, and even polyester.
But real pashmina, from the word pashm, means king's fabric, the name for only the best 100% cashmere, and it has been cherished for hundreds of years. Pashmina shawls first found their way to the courts of the Roman Emperors and were later popularised in Europe by Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, a leader of world fashion in the 19th century, who is credited with introducing cashmere to the western world.
Pashmina or cashmere is the soft downy inner fleece of the Kashmir goat. To face up to the extremes of temperature in the mountains, dry dry summers and freezing winters, the animals grow 2 coats, the outer one hard and wiry and the inner one soft and plush.
How is it produced?
In springtime, the goats begin to moult and it's then the soft fibre is combed away by hand, each animal making just a few ounces of hair. Combing the goats and collecting the fibre is a family occasion. No harm is done to the goats.
Turning the fibre into cloth is a troublesome process and adds to the mystique of the cashmere. The inner and outer coats have to be separated before the fine fibre can be spun and woven. This needs huge talent.
The properties of pashmina, or cashmere, explain its exclusivity and desirability. The fibre is so fine, at least six times finer than a human hair, and measures about 11 nanometers (11/1000 of a millimetre). When the fibres are twisted together during the spinning process, thousands of microscopic air pockets form which give cashmere its fantastic insulation and weightlessness.
It takes the once a year output of 3 to four goats to provide one cashmere shawl. Put an alternative way, so fine is the fabric that one hand spun, hand woven headscarf uses 1.5km of this dear fibre, yet weighs less than 75grams. Traditionally in Kashmir the spinning and weaving is done by hand, the women spin and the men weave, while most other cashmere is now produced by machine. At Black we have cashmere using both techniques.
Today cashmere is a popular luxury material utilised for creating ourcashmere gloves cashmere hats, jumpers and scarves and cashmere socks.We pride ourselves on using the highest quality cashmere in the United Kingdom. The range of designs are modern and classy and available in 1 or 2 different colours to match any wardrobe.
Originating in Kashmir, high in the mountains of the Himalayas, cashmere is known by its authentic name, pashmina. The word pashmina is much misused, today being adopted to describe scarfs and scarves of diverse mixes of wool, silk, cashmere, and even polyester.
But real pashmina, from the word pashm, means king's fabric, the name for only the best 100% cashmere, and it has been cherished for hundreds of years. Pashmina shawls first found their way to the courts of the Roman Emperors and were later popularised in Europe by Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, a leader of world fashion in the 19th century, who is credited with introducing cashmere to the western world.
Pashmina or cashmere is the soft downy inner fleece of the Kashmir goat. To face up to the extremes of temperature in the mountains, dry dry summers and freezing winters, the animals grow 2 coats, the outer one hard and wiry and the inner one soft and plush.
How is it produced?
In springtime, the goats begin to moult and it's then the soft fibre is combed away by hand, each animal making just a few ounces of hair. Combing the goats and collecting the fibre is a family occasion. No harm is done to the goats.
Turning the fibre into cloth is a troublesome process and adds to the mystique of the cashmere. The inner and outer coats have to be separated before the fine fibre can be spun and woven. This needs huge talent.
The properties of pashmina, or cashmere, explain its exclusivity and desirability. The fibre is so fine, at least six times finer than a human hair, and measures about 11 nanometers (11/1000 of a millimetre). When the fibres are twisted together during the spinning process, thousands of microscopic air pockets form which give cashmere its fantastic insulation and weightlessness.
It takes the once a year output of 3 to four goats to provide one cashmere shawl. Put an alternative way, so fine is the fabric that one hand spun, hand woven headscarf uses 1.5km of this dear fibre, yet weighs less than 75grams. Traditionally in Kashmir the spinning and weaving is done by hand, the women spin and the men weave, while most other cashmere is now produced by machine. At Black we have cashmere using both techniques.
Today cashmere is a popular luxury material utilised for creating ourcashmere gloves cashmere hats, jumpers and scarves and cashmere socks.We pride ourselves on using the highest quality cashmere in the United Kingdom. The range of designs are modern and classy and available in 1 or 2 different colours to match any wardrobe.
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The mohairsock Company now also have a good range of cashmere products. As an example cashmere gloves, cashmere hats, scarves and cashmere socks.