Men's and women's scarves made of fine wool and silk

Viscose

Viscose is made from cellulose, which is an organic compound found in plant cell walls. Viscose fibers are obtained from cellulose by regeneration, ie chemical and mechanical processing.

Ordinary viscose fiber is less strong than cotton, especially when wet, but modified types are twice as strong as cotton. The fibers are produced glossy or matte and various fineness. They are easy to bleach and dye.

Viscose scarves are pleasant to the touch, have good absorbency and do not wrinkle. Viscose is used wherever the properties of natural silk are desired, but the products should not be too expensive. Viscose is also often called artificial silk.

Silk

The term silk primarily refers to natural silk, but currently synthetically produced textile fibers are also used to produce fabrics in the form of artificial silk.

Natural silk is obtained by unfolding the cocoon of the silkworm butterfly (Bombix mori). The average length of the fiber obtained in this way reaches 3 to 4 km. Although synthetic silk has been very successful in the global market, natural silk still remains an important raw material for clothing products, not only for its exclusive look and feel, but also for its practical properties. Silk scarves are pleasantly cool in summer, warm in winter and absorb sweat well.

Wool

Most of the yarns are currently mixed with artificial fibers, a smaller part with the hair of other animals (Kashmir or Angora goat or camel hair) and, exceptionally, it is also mixed with cotton. Wool production is environmentally friendly and is based on the principle of renewable resources.

About 3 kg of wool is obtained from one sheep per year, some types of sheep produce up to 18 kg of wool per year. The fleece, i.e. the entire sheep's hair after shearing, is then divided into different quality classes.

The special structure of the chain molecule gives the wool fiber warmth and breathability and excellent elasticity and flexibility. The wool is therefore almost wrinkle-free. Only a small part of the wool produced in the world is made into pure wool yarn.

Cashmere wool

Cashmere belongs to the finest textile fibers. It is obtained from the soft and warm undercoat - the inner part of the hair of Kashmiri goats living mainly in the Himalayas at heights from 3000 to 4500 meters above sea level. Originally, these goats were bred only in the Indian state of Kashmir, but today they can also be found in Tibet.

Various qualities of Cashmere shawls, differing in fiber thickness, reach the world market. Assessing quality is also made more difficult by the fact that sheep's wool and cashmere can only be distinguished from each other under a microscope.

Cashmere yarn is valued for its lightness, softness, luster and warmth. The price of cashmere is many times higher than the price of sheep's wool, the production of wool is very limited. The annual yield per animal is only around 90 grams.

Cashmere is often processed as a blend with sheep's wool and silk. Because it is a rare and expensive material, moreover, it is difficult to distinguish from fine undercoat lamb's wool, often this lamb's wool is mistaken for cashmere.

Pashmina

The term pashmina is derived from the Persian term "pashm" (wool), but it does not refer to any specific wool. In India and Nepal, the word pashmina is often used as a synonym for cashmere, but also very loosely for all other shawls (including those made of viscose, wool, etc.). In the West, the term pashmina became popular as a designation for shawls made mainly in India or Nepal, often of a larger size.

Due to the fact that cashmere (hair from the cashmere goat) is rare and expensive, the vast majority of shawls that are labeled as 100% pashmina or cashmere in Nepal or India are made from selected undercoat wool of lambs living at high altitudes (not from wool of alpine goats).

This undercoat wool is particularly warm and soft - it's an excellent insulating layer for alpine conditions. The best quality undercoat wool is obtained from young lambs, from the part below the neck.

There are many different qualities depending on the fineness of the wool selected. In the Indian market, one can find a mixture of this high-quality extra-fine lamb's wool with cashmere, exceptionally cashmere as such.

In Kashmir, shawls are traditionally made from specially selected (extra fine, but at the same time stronger) undercoat wool of high mountain lambs, which is woven into incredibly thin and delicate shawls.