Photo: Special Arrangement Kashmir’s famed pashmina shawls, known for centuries for their signature intricate buta or paisley patterns, got a French touch this week.

The shawl went out of fashion in the 1870s, but the pattern that had decorated them is still popular today. Hand loom weaving was a traditional industry in Renfrewshire throughout the 18th and ...

By the first decade of the 19th century, weavers in England, France and Russia had developed hand looms to re-create a muted facsimile of the Kashmir shawls. In 1812, a manufacturer in Paisley ...

By the early 19th century, kani-shawl weaving in Kashmir had become so complicated and laborious, in design and colours, that it could take up to 18 months to weave one piece. Demand in Europe was ...