Jamavar is a famous variety of shawl originating from
Jammu and Kashmir. Made from the wool derived from the Pashmina goat found in the
Himalayas, this shawl is renowned for its softness and colored patterns. It exhibits a combination of the best material and the best weaving techniques.
The threads of the warp (yarn arranged horizontally in a loom) and weft (yarn arranged vertically in a loom) are dyed before weaving. A shuttle of the loom is loaded with colored threads moved around in a single weft. There may be as many as 50 colors in a single weft. Due to the complication arising from the large number of colors used, a person has to call out the number of warp ends used for a particular colored weft, which is followed by a second weaver who weaves the patterns accordingly.
The Jamavar shawls depict images related to architecture and mythology, interwoven with landscapes.
