Deal of the week: 20% off red merino wool shawl

This week, our Cherry Red merino wool shawl is on offer.

This is a Large pashmina scarf: pashmina stole size - 27" x 72" (180cm x 68cm).
Pure single colour oyster pashmina; hard-wearing 70% cashmere / 30% silk blend.
Single ply, with thin tasseled ends.

Just enter the code "cherryapril12" when you check out to get 20% off.

Read More

Folding a shawl from a scarf

Scarves are one of the best accessories available to both men and women. though more commonly seen on women, particularly in the United States. Pashmina and cashmere scarves primarily offer three things: warmth, style and color. They are easy and fun to use and can be worn in a many different styles

In many European countries, including France and Italy, cashmere scarves are part of everyday life. Scarves helps break up the typically solid-colored clothing frequently worn and add a pattern that is unique and interesting. There are many easy ways to fold scarves, so there are many ways to wear the same thing.

Wearing A Scarf As a Shawl

Scarves are a great way to keep warm without losing a style. Wrapped in a blanket, no one can see what you're wearing or even really who you are. But a nice, cashmere scarf, folded as a shawl, will do exactly the opposite. A square scarf can be folded into a triangle, and the ends will be tied beneath your neck, with one end hanging long down your back.

Rectangular scarves can be wrapped around the arms and shoulders and tied in the front. This keeps you warm, and if it's dark color, like black, the pashmina scarf can also make you look slimmer.

The Italian Loop

Fold your scarf in half, with the loop to one side of your neck and the ends on the other. Pull the side with the ends through the loop and pull it until you it feels the way you want it to. Leaving it loose and leaving it tight offer two different looks and can help make you feel more or less warm.

The Square Knot

Take an unfolded pashmina scarf or a square scarf folded in half and wrap it around your neck, with one side longer than the other. Wrap the longer end around the shorter end and pull it through the hole made, like tying a shoe. Place the knot in the center, the left or the right of your neck as you desire. For a slightly more-chic look, fold it in half before tying it. The shorter look is a nice accent over the top of jackets and blouses. For another variation, start with the ends at your back and wrap them all the way around your neck before tying them.

Simple Wrap

The simplest way to fold a cashmere scarf is to just wrap it around your neck a couple of times so both ends hang down in front. It keeps you warm, it's simple it's quick and it can add a little touch of color without it being ostentatious.

Wearing scarves is an art, and whether you're wearing them as a shawl, around your neck around your waist or some other way, there are dozens of ways to wear them. Once you get the hang of it, it's a lot of fun and you'll be making up your own ways and developing your favorites.

Read More

Ways Of Wearing Stoles

Pashmina is a wool type material used to make a multifunctional accessory commonly referred to as a stole. Pure pashmina is made from the fur of a goat and manufactured into a softer material known as cashmere. These stoles became popular in the mid 1990's because of this soft, warm fabric. This cashmere scarf is most appropriately worn in the spring and fall when the temperature tends to be a bit cooler. There are several different ways of wearing your stole.

I was a teenager when these cashmere stoles first became popular. I would see adults wearing them and would laugh because back then they looked like something you would wear to a stuffy diner. It didn't look like something I would ever see at school. I was from a rural area, so seeing fancy looking clothing was like speaking a foreign language to me. Some friends and I were at the local hang out one Saturday when one of my friends mom came in wearing one of those stoles. Looking back now I think I was just uncomfortable because I had no clue how to wear it, what to wear it with, or when it was appropriate to wear it.

Different ways of wearing a stole include what I call a reverse scarf, a sash, a headband, a stole or as a belt.

The reverse scarf is just like wearing a winter scarf but instead of putting the center of the pashmina in the back of the neck and allowing the ends to fall in front, you place the center in the front of your neck and let the ends fall on your back.

The sash is just like you see for the woman in the Miss. America pageants. The center of the scarf lays on one shoulder then you drape it across your body to the opposite hip and secure it there. You may secure it there by either putting it in a knot or using a pin.

One thing that must be remembered when wearing it on your hips is that it is not meant to hide your hips. If you are trying to hide your hips this is not the way.

If it is a windy day you can fold the pashmina in half lengthwise to a width that you are comfortable. Place the center on top of your head, and wrap around to the bottom of your head and tie. It would look like a headband but very original and stylish. This will hold your hair down and keep it looking nice without having to do much to style it.

On chilly days when you have short sleeves on and need to cover your shoulders you can wear it like a stole. You drape the pashmina over your shoulders. Tie in the front. If you don't like the tied look you can always secure it with a pin. If you should get to warm while this is on you can take it off and tie it around your hips.

Read More

Nepalese pashminas

You know you’re getting quality pashmina when you see a tag that says “Made in Nepal.” Pashmina that comes from Nepal and Tibet are several microns thinner than the ones from some parts in Kashmir in India. Therefore, the pashmina is softer and lighter and more comfortable.

Pashmina is the name of the luxurious, beautiful fabric that is made from the wool of the Chyangra goat or the Capra Hircus. These goats live in the cold, temperate, mountainous regions of Central Asia, particularly in the central plains of Mongolia and the Himalayas. Because this rare of breed of goats lives around 12,000 to 14,500 feet above sea level, they have developed short, thin and shiny inner coats to insulate themselves from the cold. Weavers collect the hair these goats shred during spring to produce the pashmina. In fact, the word pashmina itself comes from the ancient Persian word “pashm” which means wool and which refers to the inner coat of the capra hircus.

For many years, pashmina has been used by weavers in Kashmir, from which the name cashmere is derived. Kashmir is a disputed area that lies between Pakistan and India. Due to the ongoing civil war, much of the production has been transferred to other parts of India and Nepal.

The raw materials, such as the wool and the fleece, are carefully hand-spun and then dyed using environment-friendly dyes such as Swiss Sandoz dyes. Some manufacturers even employ authentic Tibetan artists in Nepal especially for the dyeing process, as dyeing involves a more delicate, intricate procedure. One mistake by a less skilled artisan can spell the difference between a quality pashmina and a bad one. The pashmina that comes from Nepal are treated with dyes that are of higher quality than the dyes coming from India. Dyeing, then, is done faster and the colors last longer.

Pashmina from Nepal, which is thinner, softer and lighter than pashmina from other parts of the world, is combined with silk, which adds durability and luster to the fabric. This is then hand-woven into the shawls, stoles and scarves which are shipped all over the world and which you see in your favorite clothing store. Pashmina makers from Nepal also take pride in the fact that the pashmina from their country are handmade. Some are machine made, and although they are less expensive, they are also relatively harsher and rougher to the touch. Handweaving allows the pashmina to be densely woven yet still lightweight and much more comfortable.

The incredibly high demand for pashmina all over the world has resulted not only in making women more stylish and fashionable, it has also kept the tradition of hand weaving in Nepal alive. Pashmina-making is an old tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation. This also provides valuable income for the artisans and their families.

Read More

Deal of the week: 5% off Oyster pashmina

This week, our Oyster pashmina is on offer.

This is a Large pashmina scarf: pashmina stole size - 27" x 72" (180cm x 68cm).
Pure single colour oyster pashmina; hard-wearing 70% cashmere / 30% silk blend.
Single ply, with thin tasseled ends.

Just enter the code "oystermarch12" when you check out to get $5 off.

Read More

Maintain your pashmina: remove bobbles quickly and gently

We've launched a new product, to help your pashminas last longer! Our Cashmere Smoothing Stone quickly removes bobbles, restoring your shawl to its just-bought look.

We know how frustrating it can be to see pilling on your knitted or woven fabrics. Sweater pills are tangles of fabric that naturally come loose where the garment is rubbed the most. Natural fabric pilling is simply unavoidable.

This is why we have introduced the sweater stone as part of our care range -- a favorite tool to remove unsightly pilling and renew the finish of sweaters, blankets, upholstery and more. The Sweater Stone is an easy, convenient and environmentally safe way to remove pilling. Renew your cashmere shawls to that "just-bought" look. Save time and money on professional dry-cleaning.

This Cashmere Sweater Stone is the best tool on the market for removing pilling and balling on garments and fabrics. As well as shawls, the it is the perfect tool to rejuvenate knits, weaves, flannel, upholstery and much more. Just brush the surface of the fabric with Sweater Stone, and our tool will remove the pilling and balling while leaving the unique halo of the fabric renewed. It works by cleanly detaching through the thin strands causing pills as they become entangled in its microcrystalline surface.





The Sweater Stone has been featured in O Magazine and Red Book as the best tool for Cashmere. The Sweater Stone is the perfect tool for all fine knits and weaves, removing pilling, while leaving the soft halo of the garment intact.

Sweater Stone is American Made of all-natural materials, and has 100% recycled packaging. All of the assembly work is produced by the functionally disabled, in Seattle, since 1986. The stone comes with full instructions.

Read More

Pashmina International partners with Shipwire

After five years of operation, we're really pleased to announce that we are now working with a dedicated, efficient and friendly fulfilment service, Shipwire. All our shawls and pashminas now stay in Shipwire warehouses, and they help us by sending out orders as soon as we get them.

As a global business, we have customers in many countries, and meeting shipping deadlines is sometimes expensive or difficult. Now that we can use Shipwire's warehouses all over the world - USA, London, China and Canada - we can use the nearst location with stock to get your order to you faster, for less! We can even ship items out when our main location is all asleep.

This should mean that your order will get to you more efficiently, with better notifications, better tracking, and no extra cost. More pashminas, and faster!

Read More