Shawls - A Brief History
Certainly there have been eras of fashion for shawls, yet they have always been in use. Probably originating in India, the decorative shawl was known in Kashmir in the 11th century. By the 15th century, the ruler of Kashmir, Zayn ul' Abidin appears to have promoted the weaving industry to produce the fine quality and beautiful designs we know today as Kashmiri shawls. Rougher sheep's wool was used by the working women of the Celtic regions, while the Pueblo Indians wove with cotton and grasses. The art we know as Navajo weaving used both sheep's wool and remnants of other fabrics to create vibrant designs.
Each of the world's cultures has it's own history of weaving and dyeing, too many to include here. However, if you are interested in learning more about shawls please see the following links:
- Origins of the Kashmir Shawl
- Cashmere/Kashmir Shawls
- Shawls of Paisley design - Victoriana.com
- Fashion History: Shawls
- Shawls in Iranian Marriage Ceremony
- Welsh National Costume
- The beautiful Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection
- History of weaving in Nepal - Spiny Babbler Museum
- Kamat's Potpourri -History of India - Ibn Batuta
- The Manton of Manila
- History of the Tartan
- Navajo Weaving - a brief Social History
- The Early History of the Kilt
Links to textiles and shawls
- Handweaving - Archive and Gallery
- Textile Museum Washington DC
- Textile Museum of Canada
- Fiber Arts online
- Australian Wool Services
- Southeast Asian Textiles - Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
- Orenburg Knitted Lace - Saska Designs Ltd
Our friends on the web
- Amida - Means for Meditation - our sister site
- Bella Tocca Tags - Sterling silver pet ID tags
- Centauria Web Design Company - Custom & high-end web design and development, e-commerce solutions and corporate identity design
- Oak City Gallery - Beautiful pins for shawls, handmade by Julie Teeples
- Parallax Design Group - Web Design, Graphic Design, e-Commerce, Online Database Programming
