In Europe there are various kinds of Cashmere products being sold incorporating Merino wool.
This wool enables the yarn to work through machine knitted shawls, whereas the main part of the shawl is in plan knit with a block colour. The main difference in the Pashmina/ Cashmere shawls is that they are weaved on handlooms with careful precision as the fibres are very fine. The patterns are punched out in templates which then fed through the loom and the yarns to create the designs.
The colours used in the modern knitting yarn is based on pigments of chemical dyes, whereas the traditional dyes used on the Pashmina cashmere are from minerals, usually stones, vegetables and roots. For this reason too, keeping the Pashmina away from heat and hot water when washing is highly recommended.
The traditional handloom Pashmina shawls have a matt finish though with a luxurious lustre feeling to the touch, unlike the modern knitted shawls, would show a slight sheen on the surface. As a handcrafted shawls the Pashmina often have some irregularity in the weave which could be adjusted back to it’s place whereas the machine made look very regular all over.
