Care & Repair Guide

The basics

Pashmina is durable in the way fine things are durable, with attentive, infrequent care, not heavy laundering. As a rule: dry clean, or hand wash cold in a gentle wool detergent, and always lay flat to dry, away from direct sun and away from a radiator or dryer. Most pieces need cleaning far less often than you'd expect, wool fibre is naturally odour-resistant and self-cleaning between wears, so a shawl worn for an evening can usually just be aired out and folded away rather than washed.

A first wash matters more than the ones after it. New hand-spun yarn still carries a small amount of natural lanolin and loose fibre from spinning, and a gentle first hand wash in cold water actually softens a piece rather than damaging it, this is expected, not a sign something's wrong. After that, wash only when a piece genuinely needs it, over-washing is a far more common cause of a pashmina looking tired than under-washing.

Care by fibre

If you do hand wash, use lukewarm to cold water and a detergent made for wool or cashmere specifically, ordinary laundry detergent is formulated for cotton and synthetic fibres and can strip the natural lanolin that keeps pashmina soft. Press water out gently between two towels rather than wringing or twisting, which can distort the weave, and reshape the piece to its original dimensions while it's still damp, before it dries into whatever shape it's left in.

Pilling & shedding

Light pilling in the first few wears is normal for hand-spun fibre and isn't a fault, it's loose surface fibre settling. Hand-spun yarn pills more in these early wears than commercial machine-spun cashmere does, precisely because the fibres aren't held as rigidly uniform, that same looseness is what gives it its particular softness and drape once it's settled. Remove pilling with a cashmere comb or by hand, never a razor or fabric shaver, which can damage the weave underneath rather than just lift the surface fibre.

Pilling typically drops off sharply after the first three to five wears as the loose surface fibre works itself free, and a piece that pilled noticeably at first often pills very little after that. Pilling that continues heavily well past that point, or that appears as thinning rather than small balls of fibre, is worth writing to us about with a photo, since it can occasionally point to a wash that was too warm or too rough rather than to the fibre itself.

Storage

Fold rather than hang, hanging a pashmina for long periods stretches it unevenly at the shoulders or fold line, permanently. Store it in a breathable cotton or linen bag rather than plastic, wool needs to breathe, and a sealed plastic bag traps moisture that can lead to mildew or a flat, lifeless hand over time. Keep pieces with cedar blocks or a lavender sachet rather than mothballs, whose chemical smell is difficult to fully air back out.

Refold along different lines every few months if a piece is in long-term storage, a permanent crease can develop along a fold line that's never varied, especially in a lighter-weight stole. Keep stored pieces out of direct sunlight, which fades natural dyes unevenly over time, a drawer or a lidded box out of a sunlit closet works better than an open shelf. Air pieces out between wears instead of washing after every use, a few hours on a padded hanger or laid flat is usually enough to freshen a piece that's only been worn briefly.

Travel & everyday wear

Fold rather than roll for travel, rolling can create a visible crease across the weave that's harder to fully release than a fold line. A pashmina packs surprisingly small for how warm it is, which makes it one of the more forgiving pieces to travel with, but avoid packing it directly against zippers, buckles, or a rough interior lining, which can snag the weave in transit.

For everyday wear, keep a piece away from rough surfaces that can catch the fibre, a wicker chair back or a velcro strap are common, easily avoided snag points. Perfume and hairspray are best applied before a shawl goes on rather than after, both can leave a mark on natural fibre that's difficult to fully remove.

Repairs & mending

Hand-spun, handwoven pashmina is built to be mended, not replaced. If a piece is snagged, frayed, or needs re-embroidery, contact us, where possible we route repairs back through the originating atelier, the same hands that made the piece, which tends to produce a cleaner, closer match than a generalist repair done elsewhere.

A snag can often be worked back into the weave by hand rather than cut, ask us before trimming a pulled thread yourself. Re-fringing, reweaving a small worn patch, and touching up embroidery that's loosened over the years are all routine requests for a piece bought here, whatever its age, we'd rather hear from you years later about a repair than have a piece quietly retired early. Turnaround varies with what the atelier's current workload looks like and how involved the repair is, we'll always give you an honest estimate before starting rather than a vague one.