What is a pashmina shawl?

The following notes are drawn from an account of Kashmiri shawl production in Anamika Pathak's Pashmina. Our understanding is that methods are similar in Nepal.

• The primary source of wool is the domesticated goat Capra hircus. This wool is called pashm.
• The word shahtoosh derives from shah (king) and tus (wool), and refers to the highest quality fabric, which was reserved only for royalty. Although historically (and perhaps currently) other wild species are used as well, shahtoosh wool is derived primarily from the endangered Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii), more commonly known by the Tibetan name chiru. It is illegal in most countries.
• The domesticated shawl goats have an outer coat composed of short and relatively brittel guard hairs, and a softer inner coat. The best quality fiber comes from the area under the neck and belly.
• The goat is sheared once a year, at the beginning of the summer. A knife is used rather than scissors, because the scissors allow the inner and outer layers of fleece mix. A knife is used to remove the outer coat first, and then the inner fleece is combed toward the head and carefully cut off.
• Despite the care and skill of shearers, there is always some outer hair mixed into the finer fleece, and this has to be removed by hand.
• The raw wool is sorted according to quality and fiber length. Individual hairs may be as long as 40 cm (16").
• The sorted fibers are washed with plain water to get rid of dust and plant matter. Soap is not used, as it makes the wool harsher.
• The cleaned wool is teased between two wooden combs to loosen and separate tangled fibers.
• Prior to spinning, the cleaned wool is spread out and rubbed with a paste of pounded rice and water. Once dried and teased again, the toughened wool is ready for spinning into yarn.
• Two qualities of thread were spun. The warp thread, which is subject to more tension than the weft, is prepared with a greater number of twists. The weft thread is less intensively twisted, so that it retains a fluffier texture.