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Kashmir shawls were famous in the times of Emperor Ashok (3rd century BC) but Sultan Zain-Ul-Abidin (1420-1470 A.D) was the initiator of the shawl industry in Kashmir. Sultan’s rule encouraged the promotion of arts as an organized trade and the “Pashmina” or “Peshmina”, or in Persian “Pashm”, is a legacy of that period. 
At the time of Mughal rule in India, Kashmir overtook the North-West Frontier and Punjab as the centre of shawl making. The Mughal emperor Akbar was greatly impressed by the Kashmiri shawl and the way it was worn, folded in four, captured his imagination. He experimented with various ways of wearing it and found that it looked good worn without folds, just thrown over the shoulder.
Akbar encouraged the weavers to try new motifs, and also started the fashion of the twin shawl, where two identical shawls were sewn back to back, hiding the rough edges of tapestry weave and giving the impression of a single, reversible shawl. The royal shawls were richly embellished with precious metals and stones. Incredibly soft, and painstakingly crafted, few samples of these shawls have survived to date and are treated as priceless heirlooms.
Akbar’s successors too patronized the shawl industry in the valley, but the Afghan rule that followed the Mughal rule almost wiped out this industry of intricate craftsmanship. The Afghan governor Haji Dad Khan (1776-83) imposed such heavy taxes on the shawl industry that the artisans were forced to quit their professions. 
PASHMINA (KASHMIRI SHAWLS)
Shawls are produced by two techniques: loom woven or Kani shawls, and the needle embroidered or Sozni shawls.
The basic fabric is of the three types - Shah Tush, Pashmina and Raffal.
• Shah Tush (King of wool) passes through a ring and is also known as Ring shawl. It comes from a rare Tibetan antelope living at a height of over 14000 ft in the wilds of the Himalayas. This type of shawl is no longer produced as the antelope is now protected and it is illegal to kill them for their ‘wool’ – existing shawls, which were known as ‘Peshmina’, are extremely valuable. 
• Pashmina is known world over as Cashmere wool. It comes from a special goat (Capra hircus) living at above 14,500 ft and reared by nomad shepherds around the famous Pongkong lake in close proximity to Western Tibet. Pashmina goats living above 14,500 ft produce the finest wool. The growth of the fine and warm pashm is related to the harsh winds and low temperatures that fall as low as minus 30 degrees Centigrade (-20° F). The goats are mustered each spring and the baby goats’ underbellies (kids’ tummies) are hand clipped to obtain Pashm the ‘wool’. Pashm has a special lustre due to its long, 12 microns fine fibers (Merino wool fibers 23 microns and Human hair up to 200 microns thickness). Pashmina is very light, soft and warm, and feels luxurious against the skin. Pashmina fleece colours range from winter white, grey, red, brown and black. 
Pashmina goat and baby goat ©
• Raffal is spun out of merino wool fleeces and is a popular type of shawl.
The shawls are embroidered with floral motifs. The various designs available include Neemdoor, Doordaar, Paladaar, Baildaar, Jaalis and Jammas. Embroidery is done with the help of a needle.
Kani shawls are woven on looms with the help of Kanis. Kanis are small eyeless bobbins used instead of the shuttle.
Sozni Embroidery Shawls are needle embroidered with staple yarn on raffle cloth, with an all-over flower design. 
EXODUS FROM THE VALLEY
Following the Afghan harassment and the great famine in Kashmir many weavers moved to the Punjab in north western India, where time and again attempts had been made to establish a successful shawl industry.
The centre of shawl making shifted to Amritsar. Other towns in the Punjab also developed their own ‘Kashmiri’ shawl industry due to the migration of the Kashmiri workers. Ludhiana developed as a major shawl weaving centre.
The wool for all of this was brought all the way from Kashmir but, somehow, the shawls woven there were no match to the original masterpieces from Kashmir. 
BRITISH RAJ AND KASHMIRI SHAWL INDUSTRY
The greatest boost to the Kashmiri Shawl industry was received during the British Raj. Impressed by the Kashmiri shawls, the British took piece after piece back home where they found a willing market. One particular Indian design was taken to Scotland and manufactured in a town called Paisley; the popular Paisley print has its origin in these Kashmiri shawls.
The fame of Kashmiri shawls spread to France too, and portraits of the period often show ladies wearing these colourful shawls with beautiful motifs.
Their tremendous popularity abroad ushered in enduring fame for the Kashmiri shawls. 
CHANGES DUE TO DEMAND
In the 19th century, a change was brought in the weaving of the traditional Kani shawls of Kashmir, due to increasing demand in Europe. Instead of being woven as one piece, the shawl was now woven in long strips on small looms. Due to the large areas of design to be woven, the pattern was broken down into fragmented parts each woven separately, at times on separate looms, and then all these pieces were put together and hand stitched using a rafoogar (special needle). The beauty of this shawl was that the stitches were almost invisible, and the completed shawl looks like one complete unit.
This period also witnessed another far reaching development in Kashmir. It was advent of the Amli or embroidered shawl. The Amli shawl is the Kani shawl further embellished, or in some cases the plain Kani ones beautifully decorated by a kind of parallel darning stitch. 
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