|
|
|
The shawl or a shoulder mantle is a rectangular or oblong piece of cloth, which is worn over the shoulders and covers the upper body, arms and head especially during squally weather and also to complement an outfit or for other symbolic reasons for eg: The Jewish men wear famous type of shawl during prayers and ceremonies called the “Talit”. It is worn in very unique style after folding hich makes a triangle. The fabric used in shawls is very fine wool that can be pass through a ring. Moreover, shawls are manufactured in different colors and patterns like jamawar paisley and printed. In today’s modern and fashionable world, it is considered as smart wearing clothing accessory. Shawls woven out of pashmina, merino and cashmere wool are exceptionally soft, smooth textured and warm |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The most commonly used raw material for making shawls is wool. Other materials are also used for making good quality and stylish shawls. Shawls are also crafted out of natural and artificial fabrics and sometimes wool is mixed with some other fabrics to produce most fashionable shawls. Besides wool, other materials used for manufacturing of shawls are fur, silk, alpaca, cotton, satin, velvet, jacquard, crepe, polyester, khaddar etc. for eg: |
|
|
|
- Various techniques, fabrics, designs and patterns are adopted for beautifying the crepe shawls. Flat crepe shawls with silk fringes are also very popular and are mostly hand woven. These shawls are also decorated with pearls and fringes and are available in various colors like black, red, white, purple, blue, etc. Birds and fauna are the most prevalent designs available in crepe shawls.
- Derived from a South American camelid species called alpaca, alpaca wool is classified as a rare specialty fibre and has more thermal capacity as compared to any other animal fibro. Alpaca shawls are very warm, fine and delicate. They are embellished with silk embroidery, graceful and flowing drape. Alapaca shawls are woven in several dyed colours and luxurious thick double twist yarn that impart a silken and felted finish. Alpaca shawls are chiefly manufactured in Bolivia.
- The natural comfort imparted by cotton shawls makes them all the more special and popular amongst people of all age groups. Traditional patterns on cotton shawls make them ultimate formal outfits. Cotton handloom shawls with fringes are very popular these days. The popular patterns embellished in cotton shawls include batick, floral pattern, traditional pattern, etc.
- Polyester fibers are often blended with other fibers like silk and cotton to produce finer quality shawls. These lightweight shawls are mostly handmade and are decorated with beads, fringes and mirror work. The popular colors in polyester shawls include: Black, Blue, Ecru, Pink, Red, Purple, White, Green, Ivory, etc. India and china are chief producer and exporter of high quality polyester shawls.
- Jacquard is a divine fabric, woven with the help of a technique known as the Jacquard loom. Jacquard shawls are manufactured using age old hand-looms as well as latest imported Sulzer machines. Commonly used fabrics for making jacquard shawls are pure wool, cashmere wool, cotton and viscose. Unique designs like geometric patterns, checks, floral prints are prepared through decorative techniques like embroidery, appliqué work, bead work etc.
Jacquard shawls manufactured in India are exported to various corners of the world like Europe, Central Asia, etc. China is also a prominent producer and exporter of Jacquard shawls.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Indian shawls are crafted out of pure and soft wool with traditional artistic work of Punjab, Kashmir, Gujarat, Benaras etc. In India, the most famous shawls are the Kashmir Shawls and are highly popular in the western countries as well. Kashmir shawls are mainly of three types- wool, pashmina and shahtoosh. They differ on the basis of the fabric used to make them. The woollen shawls are the most affordable being within reach of the common man. The shahtoosh are the most expensive and pshmina shawls fall in between. |
|
|
|
Woolen Shawls |
|
The woolen shawls of Kashmir have beautiful embroidery work done on them. The price of the woolen shawls depends upon the type of wool used and the fineness of the embroidery. Kashmiri wool, known as raffel, is 100 percent pure and the embroidery done is quite unique to the valley. These shawls are also available in myriad colors. They are quite light-weight and trendy. Printed woolen shawls are of superior quality wool and are available in various prints, contrasts and colors and look quite stylish. |
|
|
|
Pashmina Shawls |
|
The elaborate design pattern especially cone pattern and perfect integration of balance, rich color tones and contrasts and depth makes kashmiri shawls most noteworthy. Pashmina is very famous and typical shawl famous all over the world. It is highly of fine quality, soft and short. Pashmina Shawls are also very much favored due to its exquisite appeal. The main types of embroidery done on the Pashmina shawls are sozni, papier-mache and aari. Sozni. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shahtoosh Shawls |
|
Shahtoosh shawls are made from the hair of the Tibetan antelope (Pantholops Hodgsoni). It is found in the plateau of Tibet and the eastern part of Ladakh, at an altitude of above 5,000 m. Shahtoosh shawls are extremely light, soft and warm. These shawls are awfully expensive, because of the scarcity of the raw material. The shawls may be pure, made from shahtoosh yarn alone, or mixed with pashmina. Within the pure shahtoosh shawls also, there are many qualities. Shahtoosh shawls are rarely dyed and have little embroidery on them. |
|
|
|
Shawls in India can be classified into shapes and patterns, loom woven shawls called tilikar, kanikar, tiliwalla, amilkar, The wide array of designs and quality have made shawls a unique fashion statement. On the basis of their design, shawls may of the following types: |
|
|
|
- Antique Jamawar Shawls: Jamawar shawls are mainly made from fine quality wool obtained from the fleece of the Capra Hircus goat, known worldwide as "Cashmere," or properly termed as "Pashm". Similar to the exquisite Paisley designs, these shawls are intricately embroidered into oriental designs and large motifs in Kashmir in India. Recommended by the world's leading fashion designers, a Pashmina Jamavar is still a fashion amongst the rich and fashion conscious people of UK, Europe, USA and the rest of the world. The softness and intricate designs of the shawl have gained worldwide acceptance since decades.
- Beaded Shawls are considered gorgeous evening wear with elegant Glass, crystal, wood, jute, ivory bead work on it. Beadwork techniques are broadly divided into bead embroidery, bead crochet, bead knitting, loom and off-loom weaving; and stringing.
- Embroidered Shawls : The beautiful and unique embroidered shawls are available in various styles and patterns. These shawls are either hand embroidered or machine embroidered to give the desired finish. A wide variety of fabric like pure wool, cashmere, silk, pashmina, cotton or a mix of these fabrics is used for making exquisite embroidered shawls. There are different types of embroidery techniques to create embroidered shawls such as Kantha embroidery, Rabri, Phulkari and Suzini.
- Knitted Shawls: Knitted shawls are made from an array of man made and natural fibers including wool, silk, cotton, cashmere. Varieties of shawls are constructed by knitting yarns together. Popular knits used to create elaborate designs of shawls are waffle knit, single knit, double knit, jersey knit, cable knit, pique knit, interlock knit etc. Noteworthy feature of these knitted shawls is that they have better strechability than the woven ones.
|
|
|
|
Other types are Paisley shawls, Printed shawls, Woven shawls, Poncho shawls, Woven shawls, handmade shawls, handloom shawls and many more… |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The intricately woven Indian shawls are distinct from all over the world in embroidery, the manner of weaving and implication of designs that give them a matchless look. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
