A Khadi shawl woven from Swati Shahtoosh wool in off-white, with small multicoloured buti woven into the field and a border of diamond medallions, flower buti and fine dark lines across the ends. Handwoven on the khaddi handloom in Salampur, Swat, and finished with a long twisted fringe.
Swati Shahtoosh is woven from fine Australian Merino wool, chosen for its softness, warmth and light weight. The name comes from the feel of the cloth, not the fibre: no shahtoosh (Tibetan antelope) wool is used.
Khadi, in the finer yarn
Khadi takes its name from the khaddi, the wooden handloom every weaving family in Salampur keeps at home, and our regular Khadi shawls are its plainest, lightest work in everyday wool. This one is different: it is woven on the same loom from the finer, softer yarn we use for our Swati Shahtoosh range. The hand is noticeably softer than a standard Khadi, the surface has a faint sheen, and it drapes closer to the body. Think of it as a Khadi in its best cloth.
Woven, not embroidered
Nothing on this shawl is stitched on afterwards. The scattered buti across the field, the row of diamond medallions in blue, rose and lilac, the small flowers and the thin dark lines that frame them are all put in on the loom as the cloth is woven — a supplementary-weft technique where the weaver lays in each coloured motif by hand, row by row. It is slower than plain weaving and it is why the motifs sit flat in the cloth rather than on top of it. The soft, slightly blurred look of the buti on the reverse is the mark of this work.
The colour
Off-white is the natural, undyed shade of the wool — a warm white rather than a bright one. The buti are small and low in contrast, so the shawl reads as a plain off-white from a few steps away and shows its pattern only up close. It goes over every colour, and it is the piece to choose when you want something lighter and less formal than an embroidered shawl.
Details
- Khadi weave in Swati Shahtoosh (fine Australian Merino wool) — handwoven on the khaddi handloom in Salampur, Swat
- Woven multicoloured buti through the field; woven border of diamond medallions, flower buti and fine dark lines at the ends
- Long twisted fringe
- Approximately 45" × 85"
- Dry clean only — store folded and away from direct light
Handwoven cloth varies slightly from piece to piece; small irregularities in the weave and in the placing of the buti are the signature of hand work rather than a fault.
Ships in Attan's branded box with a thank-you card, ready to gift.
