How to Make a Sozni Embroidery Masterpiece

The creation of a pashmina shawl begins with preparing tufts of wool to spin.

Dust and stray hairs are cleaned away with a wooden comb fixed on a stand.

The spinning process uses very simple, down to earth wooden instruments that are usually homemade.

Spindles are fitted into the shuttle that passes through the weft threads on a loom.

There is a large array of colours in which to dye the base shawl. The base colour may be left natural or dyed to a suitable hue, if the embroidery is not meant to cover the entire surface.

Dyeing is usually done in-house by perfectionist families.

Dye materials are available for mixing near the workshops for embroiderers who create a large number of colour-ways.

Small, subtle colour variations can be created through clever dyeing techniques.

Shabir and his brother Ghulam Mohamad wind a hank of silk threads before selecting the colours to be used on a shawl.

The old fashioned simple loom is set up at the embroidery workshop to demonstrate the process to visitors.

Woven fabric emerges from the loom. Here, the warp is black, as the weft changes colour every few inches, creating a multi-shaded shawl.

Each part of the process of weaving and embroidering a shawl involves concentration and precision.

The next step in the process is to plan the embroidery pattern and layout. This means going to the printing block store room to select from amongst hundreds of designs carved by expert walnut carvers over the years.

The block patterns are printed on by the sure and steady hands of experienced craftsmen.

All the embroidery-related processes take place at Shabir’s home-based workshop which is called a karkhana.

At the top of Shabir’s product range are shawls that can take up to three years to complete, but he also does less intensive work to cater to a wider clientele.

The handprinted base cloth guides the fine hand of the embroiderer.

The base fabric for the embroidery is pashmina, mostly sourced locally in Srinagar from wool that comes from high ranges in Ladakh.

Shabir Ali Beigh eyes his strand of thread as if the needle will be his weapon that controls it, a challenge he enjoys taking on.

All family members join in to embroider when household chores, like cooking or feeding the children, are over.

They enjoy these moments of peace and relaxation and see it as an opportunity to hone their skills.

Since some shawls take many months of complete it is always necessary to wash them thoroughly.

It is a professionalised and labour-intensive process that require free flowing water and many hands.

Shawls come out bright and fresh after washing.

Like most textiles all over India, Kashmir’s shawls are dried on lines or on the ground out in the open. There are no inner spaces available for drying.

Read more about the art of Kani Sozni here:
- Laying the Standards
- The Environment