Kani Shawls

Possibly nothing more eloquently symbolizes Kashmir's renowned Arts and Crafts heritage as a luxurious Kani Pashmina. Every girl's heart will twirl when she discovers the vivid array of Kani Pashminas, which have sophisticated patterns that grab your attention without hesitating. A masterwork that will last a lifetime, the Kani Pashmina shawl is indeed the zenith of Kashmiri craftsmanship and should be included in the bridal collection. Kani is more than simply a shawl; it's a piece of art. Whenever you surround yourself in a pashmina, you are doing more than simply wrapping a swatch of fabric; the pashmina's heritage will immerse you in its luxury.

Pashmina is knitted by hand creating kani shawls. But Kani shawls utilize needles fashioned from cane or wood as opposed to the shuttle used throughout conventional pashmina shawls. Depending on the coded design known as "Talim," the unmistakable Mughal patterns, often of blossoms and leaves, are interwoven into the fabric like a rug, one strand at a time. The quantity of warp threads that need to be filled in a specific coloured weft is defined by the talim. The Kanihama part of the region is the place where shawls are manufactured. The shawl's name, "Kani," was drawn from the weavers' old hometown of Kanihama in the Indian state of Kashmir. The small wooden rectangular spool is also known as a "Kani" in the native dialect. It has long been a staple of monarchs and emperors throughout the Mughal era. Ain-i-Akbari states that King Akbar used to have a massive assortment of Kani Shawls due to his profound appreciation for this exquisite product. The Sikh Maharaja and British aristocrats equally embraced it. Since antiquity, it has been among the area's most valuable commodities. The finest Pashmina wool from the wild highland goats of Tibet and Ladakh is utilized to make the much more luxurious shawls. The goat's lengthy, ultrafine fiber, that can be as thin as 12 microns, generates a distinctive sparkle. A logical response to the rugged, wind-swept topography and wintertime lows of -30 degrees was indeed the reason behind the development of the delicate, insulating Kani Pashmina shawl.

There are two main weaving designs that are thought about when making Kani Pashmina shawls.  These are the Pillar border design and the overall embroidered Jamawar. Jamawar is a lengthy design pattern that comprises conventional paisleys and blossoms in a multitude of vivid and mellow hues. A Kani Jamawar takes roughly 1-2 years to develop. On the contrary, the palldar is a kani design composed of paisleys and blossoms that is simply embroidered into the pashmina shawl's borders. Making a Kani Palldar shawl takes between two and three months. Only half an inch is spun in a single day, even if two weavers are engaged on the same loom. Therefore, it tends to take a year to finish a single piece. The weaving is executed in accordance with the Naqqash motif. The kani shawl will still be woven in the traditional strategy in the community of Kanihama and other locations in Kashmir. It features a broad color range and is densely embroidered with embroideries, creepy crawlies, geometrical, and bird motifs.

Compared to any other sort of handloom fabric, a solitary Kani shawl necessitates an enormous amount of effort, dedication, and meticulous workmanship. It is considered to be the most pricey due to this fact. The Kani Shawls are showcased in numerous interesting museums, including the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, owing to the uniqueness of the item. 

FAQS

Q1. What is a prominent motif in Kani Jamawar Shawls?

Floral motifs are extremely popular on Kani Jamawar shawls. The original Kani shawl originates from Kashmir and can be a bit expensive. They are not produced in bulk with the help of industrialized machines, Kani shawls are handmade. The artisans manufacture them with the help of cane needles, which are attached to colourful thread. The designs are intricate and the floral patterns are absolutely gorgeous. The shawls were first prepared in Kashmir’s Kanihama area. The craft holds the area’s cultural heritage and the handicraft gained recognition in other parts of the country. The craft started long ago in the Mughal era and it went through many changes. Pashmina yarn is used to weave these shawls and this contributes towards the softness.

Q2. How do you identify Kani shawl?

Carry out a fire test. We completely understand your reluctance to do anything that might damage the shawl. However, the burn test only requires removing a single thread from one of the fringes, and this will not ruin the fabric in any way. Simply placing the thread on a plate and burning it in a fire will do the trick. Examining the ashes with your fingers is useful, but you should also smell the charred fabric to get a better idea of what happened to it. If it smells like burnt hair and the ash turns to powder when you crush it, chances are good that it's the real deal. A natural byproduct of burning pashmina is an odor not unlike that of burnt hair, given that it is woven from real human hair.

Q3. How is Kani work done?

Weaving with kani is a time-consuming process that, depending on the degree of complexity and delicacy of the design, can take anywhere from a few months to several years to complete. It's possible that the required amount of time will vary drastically from situation to situation. This time frame is flexible with regard to a wide range of alterations that can be made across the board. In order to accomplish the work at hand, the shawl is woven on a loom that consists of four shafts and four treadles. In addition, the loom has a wooden reed that is built in such a way as to offer appropriate support for the complicated pashmina weaving that is being done on it.

Q4. What is Kani jamawar?

Kashmir is home to kani jamawar, a style of shawl that is one of a kind. "Jama" means a robe, and "war/var" can be used to mean either "chest" or "body." When Pashmina is used, it makes Jamawar of the best quality possible. Most of the patterns used in designs today are floral, with the kani as the main theme. Original Jamawar shawls are made by hand and have been for hundreds of years. Because they are so valuable, they sell for a lot of money. Rich and powerful merchants and noblemen of the time, like the Mughals, used Jamawar because it was made from high-quality raw materials. The Mughals also used Jamawar. One of the most important people who helped it was Emperor Akbar.

Q5. What is Kani shawl made of?

The Kani shawl is a subtype of the Kashmir shawl that was originally worn in the Kanihama area of the Kashmir valley. The Kashmir shawl is the most well-known type of shawl. The Kashmir shawl is the most prevalent name for this item. A kani is another name for the shawl that is well known as the Kani. It is believed to have originated in Kashmir, and it is regarded as one of the oldest types of workmanship that was done in that region at that time. This form of artistic expression has been practiced by the people who live in the valley ever since the Mughals ruled over the region they are located in. The weaving technique for the shawls is accomplished with the use of pashmina yarn for the best possible results.

Q6. What is Kani design?

A Kani shawl is woven in the same way as a carpet is, that is, one thread at a time, in accordance with a pattern that is coded and is known as talim. This method is similar to how a carpet is knitted. This technique is very much like the way that a carpet is woven. This method can be compared to the weaving process that is used to make carpets. This technique is analogous to the one that is utilized when weaving a carpet, which is an example of a process that is analogous. In order to accomplish what needs to be done, the talim will give the weaver instructions concerning the correct number of warp threads to cover with a specific color of weft thread. This will allow the weaver to produce the desired result.

Q7. How do you know if Kani shawl is real?

Pay close attention to the weave, since it will have the most impact on the final product. Hand-weaving on a kani loom is the only technique to create a kani fabric from cashmere threads. That's the only option at this point. Because of how the situation is built up, this is the only viable option. Because of this, the weaving will become quite unpredictable, so make sure to keep that in mind at all times. To see the shawl's peculiarities, simply hold it up to the light and examine it in this manner.