Himbunkar Bhawan

Bhuntar, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh

Widely renowned for the intricacy and finesse in weaving Kinnauri Shawls are unique. Their elaborate geometrical designs bear a strong Central Asian influence. Many of the motifs woven have a very special symbolic and religious significance. The colours used for ground are white, black, natural grey and brown. The main colours used for patterning are red, orange, pink, blue, green, yellow, black and white. Out of these five colours represent five elementswhite stands for water, yellow for earth, red for fire, green for air and blue for aether. Many a times, they have patterned borders running all along the four edges thereby increasing the labour involved and making them more expensive than Kullu Shawls. Most of the shawls for commercial use are woven on the frame loom, though the ones for local use are still woven on the pitloom. Here the weaver weaves it in two pieces of half width each and later joins them from the center with elaborate hand stitching. This serves the dual purpose of function and ornamentation.

Loi is also termed as chaddar by the local people. It is a gent's shawl, which is usually bigger in size . The size of a loi may vary from 1.15 x 2.30 in 1.40 x 2.80 m. Loi is woven in light woolen fabric and is usually plain or with a narrow border at the ends. Men drape it around and over the shoulders. It is generally made from mill-spun fabric and sometimes from hand-spun weft also. These are generally available in shades of brown, gray and white. Pashmina loi is the costliest ones.

Loi is also termed as chaddar by the local people. It is a gent's shawl, which is usually bigger in size . The size of a loi may vary from 1.15 x 2.30 in 1.40 x 2.80 m. Loi is woven in light woolen fabric and is usually plain or with a narrow border at the ends. Men drape it around and over the shoulders. It is generally made from mill-spun fabric and sometimes from hand-spun weft also. These are generally available in shades of brown, gray and white. Pashmina loi is the costliest ones.

Kulu has been famous for its shawls with striking geometrical patterns and vibrant lives. Earlier, the Kulivi people used to weave plain shawls but after the arrival of Bushehari craftsman from Rampur, Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh, the trend of patterned handloom came into existence.Typical Kullu shawls have geometrical designs on both ends. Besides geometrical designs, the shawls are also woven in floral designs, which may run all over, on the corners or on the borders only. Each design may have one to 8 colours. Traditionally, bright colours, viz. red, yellow, magenta pink, green, orange, blue, black and white were used for patterning and white, black and natural grey or brown were used as the base in these shawls. But in the present times keeping in mind the customer demand, these bright colours are being replaced gradually by pastel colours. Mill spun yarn dyed in various colours is used for the ground, while a vast range of acrylic colours is used for the pattern in the border. These shawls are available in Sheep Wool, Angora, Pashmina, Yak Wool and handspun material. The yarn used may be chemically dyed or vegetable dyed.Price of any shawl depends upon quality of wool and the number and width of patterns used in it. Owing to the high cost of labour involved in the sorting of fine pashmina fiber, the shawls prepared from pashmina wool are expensive.

We are dealing in kullu shawls, The yarn used may be chemically dyed or vegetable dyed.Price of any shawl depends upon quality of wool and the number and width of patterns used in it. Owing to the high cost of labour involved in the sorting of fine pashmina fiber, the shawls prepared from pashmina wool are expensive.