Kani Shawls

[kenny]

Hand made in Kashmir, India

I love this.

 

[kenny]

This shorter bite-sized video is a different approach that shares some footage.
The editor made some additions, and it's enriched by narration.

I couldn't help but post both.

The meticulous and laborious process for Kani shawls seems like a combination of how hand-knotted Persian Tabriz rugs are made, and how the old women I watched in Belgium wove bobbin lace.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Just came across this post, thanks for the recommendation Kenny! I love Kani - such a gorgeous pattern and the shawls are so so soft and warm. I've had the privilege of draping a heritage toosh kani shawl (no longer available for sale due to the classification of the tibetan antelope as a protected species) and omg the delicacy of that garment made my heart skip a beat. Though even the pashmina shawls feel beautiful against the skin! They're expensive, but worth it imo. A pure pashmina kani shawl would probably run to about ~$1500 but you can get shawls with just the kani border for much cheaper.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

@kenny if you're interested in Indian textiles you might enjoy these videos:

This is a video about patan patola, which is one of the most expensive handwoven silk fabrics you can buy in India. A patan patola sari is an heirloom, passed down from mother to daughter. I can't explain just how extraordinary real patola is - the pattern is completely perfect and crisp, no fuzziness at all, which is unbelievably impressive given how they literally dye the pattern on to each individual thread based on where it will be present in the final design and then weave the threads together.

Here's another one about Banarasi (specifically saris) - I find this video not as good as the first, especially since I feel like a couple of the saris I spotted in here don't look handwoven to me, but it is interesting in terms of learning about the technique and the craft (the same technique is used to weave Kanjeevaram saris as well). What is truly amazing about these saris historically is the usage of real gold and silver spun into thread (though nowadays real gold is rarely used. The most expensive ones contain silver that is electroplated to look like gold, while more common would be copper or base metals that are electroplated or dyed to look like either gold or silver).

 

[Starstruck8]

Wow! That's truly amazing! Double ikat with all the threads aligned. The video shows the weavers brushing the threads to align them perfectly. Thank you for showing this.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Wow! That's truly amazing! Double ikat with all the threads aligned. The video shows the weavers brushing the threads to align them perfectly. Thank you for showing this.

Absolutely! Traditional Indian handicrafts are my passion. I'm not very knowledgeable, but I absolutely love them, both clothing and jewellery

 

[kenny]

Fascinating!

Thanks for posting!