What is a Kani Pashmina Shawl? Uses and Benefits

The most prized of all Kashmiri shawls is the traditional ‘Kani’ hand woven pure pashmina because of the beauty of the designs, the skill and time involved in the intricate Kani weaving technique. Furthermore, the pure pashmina provides the luxurious feel and incredible warmth which is the basis of these most exceptional shawls.

The word ‘Kani’ literally means ‘stick’ in Kashmiri. It is on hundreds of these tiny sticks that the weft is created by the intricate method of attaching each coloured pashmina thread to the stick and then passing it through the warp to slowly build up the pattern.


It is an incredibly time-consuming weaving process. The loom is first set up with approximately 2,200 warp threads and to build up the pattern over 100,000 wefts in this way it will take more than 8 months to produce one shawl. Moreover, depending on how intricate the design is and whether a border design is featured, it may take even longer.

The pattern is written down in a shorthand notation called ‘talim’. This will often be copied onto point paper to make it easier to see where each coloured thread is to be placed.

Talim Paper Shorthand Notation


However, before the weaving begins the pure pashmina fibres must be sought and hand spun. These precious fibres come from the Lena Rama goat which is found in the Changtang area of Ladakh and Tibet at altitudes of over 15,000ft. The fibres are a third finer than cashmere and extremely warm. Twice a year they are combed from the under belly of the goat and then traded in Leh and Srinagar. Because the fibres are so fine and short, they can only be spun by hand. This is a skill which has been passed down from mother to daughter in the Vale of Kashmir over many generations.

History of Kashmiri Pashmina Shawls
It is believed the skill of making Kani pashmina shawls developed in the Vale of Kashmir during the early to middle 17th century. At this time, the shawls would be worn by leading dignitaries as a symbol of wealth and position during the Mughal Empire or offered as gifts along the silk road to provide safe passage. The rising popularity of the pashmina shawl amongst the aristocracy in Europe during the middle to late 18th century was due to the celebrities of the day such as Marie Antoinette, Josephine (Napoleon’s wife) and Princess Charlotte of Wales (daughter of the Prince Regent).

But by 1819 the fashion amongst the elite began to wane. The introduction of the power loom by Jacquard into Paisley, Scotland led to the mass production of replicas in wool. These became the fashion of the middle class. To this day we are still more familiar with replicas of the traditional Kani designs in the form of mass-produced scarves.

                                               Point Paper Design
Finished Kani Pashmina Shawl
The skill of the Kani master craftsmen has survived these fashion changes and today it is possible to purchase a beautiful hand crafted Kani Pashmina shawl from reputable traders in Kashmir and around the world. Since 2010, Door to the Himalayas Ltd has been working with Master Craftsmen in Kashmir, selecting at source and celebrating the incredible skills of these craftsmen by giving lectures and presentations about the Master Craftsmen of Kashmir and the Search for the Real Pashmina.

Handmade in the Himalayas

Botiya Hand Knits

Following the pilgrimage route up to Gangotri in Uttrakhand, North India, you start to see small villages adorned with prayer flags and traders selling traditional sheep’s wool hand knits and Handloomed blankets to passing pilgrims. These villages are home to the Botiya Tribe, an indigenous semi nomadic community living on the Tibetan border. The Botiyas are predominantly shepherds: whilst the men tend their flocks high up in the mountains, the women stay home and can be seen spinning and knitting in small groups along the pathways through the villages and on the balconies of their traditional wooden homes.

Traditional and sustainable

The Botiyas continue to follow traditional methods of sustainable farming and production, moving their sheep through the mountains in search of fresh grazing land, bringing their flock down to the riverside twice a year to be shared by hand. The fleece is washed by hand in the crystal clear mountain water and the women take the bundles of fleece to their homes to begin the time consuming process of deburring and carding by hand. In some areas vegetable dyeing has been introduced, but traditionally only the white and black wool will be carded to create shades of grey. The term ‘slow fashion’ could not be more relevant: after washing, deburring and carding the wool is then spun by hand using either a wheel or a drop spindle.



Hand Knitted hats, socks, gloves and sweaters

Hand knitting is a skill passed down from mother to daughter as to provide a much needed income to supplement the shepherds’ livelihoods in this remote part of India. The traditional designs depict geometric patterns more familiar to the Kullu region of Himachal Pradesh where many of the Botiyas in this area have migrated from. Increasingly, flowers and hearts are being introduced into the designs. The pilgrimage route of the Char Dham Yatra passes close by the village and has for many years provided sales opportunities for their hand knitted socks, hats, gloves and sweaters.



Hand loom blankets and shawls

As well as hand knitted products, the Botiyas are also skilled at producing thick and heavy blankets and incredibly warm hand loomed shawls. Some of these hand loomed shawls are still being made on a pit loom, and Dilli Devi, one of the village elders, continues to work daily in this way, often introducing a Kullu designed border into her shawls to indicate from where her family migrated. But the majority of the weaving is done by the men on traditional foot-powered looms. Inevitably as the younger generation benefits from access to education and communications technology, fewer and fewer will continue to live in these remote villages where life can be extremely harsh and isolating, particularly during the winter months.


Since 2012, ‘Door to the Himalayas’ has been celebrating the work of these talented artisans by maintaining a steady and sustainable route to market for these authentic, traditional, hand spun, hand-knitted and hand-loomed textiles.

Note: The name Botiya derives from the word ‘Bod’, a classical Tibetan word for Tibet. The written language of the Botiyas is similar to Tibetan, and they practice a combination of Buddhism and Hinduism.

How to Identify Pashmina Shawls

Identifying a pure pashmina shawl without the aid of a microscope is a skill developed over years of practise and a great familiarity with pashmina because nowadays the reproduction of pashmina has become a huge industry. Even the term ‘Pashmina’ has become corrupted and is now a generic term for a fine shawl. However, with the naked eye and a few things to look out for and questions to ask, it will be possible to select a beautiful pashmina shawl that you will treasure forever. Here are a few tips on how to select your pashmina shawl:

Source of purchase – in most markets around the world people will be selling pashminas, in most cases these are fake. They will be mainly produced on power looms copying traditional patterns in the weave. The fabric will be made of acrylic, viscose, cotton, wool or a mix, of course the price will be extremely tempting but it is not pashmina. It is best to purchase from a reputable shop that specialises in Kashmiri Hand Embroidered shawls and ask if they sell pure pashmina, ask questions about how and where they are made to ascertain the knowledge of the vendor.

What is Pure Pashmina – pure pashmina fibres come from the Lena Rama goat which is only found in the Chantang area of Ladakh. It is a small goat of just 18-24 inches in height and its fleece comes in colours of white, grey, black and brown. These little goats are extremely hardy as they live in temperatures often of less than -25 degrees Celsius. The fibre is unique in that it is hollow and inside there is lanolin. A real pashmina shawl is incredibly warm and yet so fine that a shawl will pass through a ring (but so do many manmade fibres so do not let this be your only guide).

Check the Weave – pure pashmina shawls can only be produced on hand looms which are foot powered, this is because the fibres being so short must be hand spun and the thread is extremely fine therefore during weaving the weft will require re knotting frequently by hand. The weaving of pure pashmina is a highly skilled craft. When checking the weave you are looking to see that the warp and weft are of the same thread, you can check it is a natural fibre by pulling out a weft and burning it, if it smells of burning hair and crumbles into dust then it is a natural fibre (although not necessarily pashmina), if it melts into a round blob then it is a manmade fibre. The types of weave used are generally plain weave or chesme bulbul (diamond weave). Some fake pashmina shawls are being produced by using a manmade filament and adding cashmere or a mix of cashmere and pashmina, or angora and this enables a soft fabric to be mass produced that resembles the softness of pashmina, however when washed the fibres fall away and the shawl falls apart.

There are many fake pashmina shawls in the world and therefore it is best to be knowledgeable about the process of making a pashmina, select from reputable traders and if in doubt then trust your instinct. ‘Door to the Himalayas’ has been working directly at source with craftsmen and women in Kashmir whose families have been involved with Pashmina for many generations. We are passionate about pashmina and aim to share our knowledge and love of the art of making pure pashmina shawls with you.