Friday, 7 February 2014
Pashmina Dye Chart
This is the dye chart that we order from. The numbers after the colour names from my January and February blogs - Pashmina shawls Colour Crib Class of 2013 - can be found here eg Plum 245 Click on the pictures to get a close up view!
Thursday, 6 February 2014
Pashmina Shawl Colour Crib Class of 2013! Beige, Brown, Grape and Plum!
This is our final selection of shawl colours from 2013, although if I were to venture into the Large Shawls I'd find plenty more....
First the browns and beiges. These aren't fashion colours, but have a timeless appeal (particularly when layered together in an outfit) and we try to have a couple of sand/beige or camel colour choices in stock at any one time. Bitter Chocolate has always been one of our Classic shades and it's a useful colour to give richness to a beige-based outfit or as an alternative if you want a darker shade but know that black is too draining on your complexion. It can also look amazing against pistachio green, if you want to tone down this year's pastels.
Plum and Grape were our shawl purples at the end of 2013 - Plum going for the pink end of the spectrum and Grape for the smoky blue. (Royal Purple and Violet appeared in the largest size). Both of these shades slot well into this winter period, when the days getting lighter. They're less rich and opulent than royal purple- which can be a bit 'Christmassy' and seem more suitable daytime shades. Grape 332 falls into the tones of purple that are coming through on the catwalks for spring 14.
As ever, the numbers following the colour names refer to the dye chart that we use to order the shawls. I will re-blog the dye chart so it's current in the list of blogs and you can see how they relate in full size shawl form!
Blonde 109-LL, Camel 109, Bitter Chocolate 232, Black, Plum 245, Grape 332
First the browns and beiges. These aren't fashion colours, but have a timeless appeal (particularly when layered together in an outfit) and we try to have a couple of sand/beige or camel colour choices in stock at any one time. Bitter Chocolate has always been one of our Classic shades and it's a useful colour to give richness to a beige-based outfit or as an alternative if you want a darker shade but know that black is too draining on your complexion. It can also look amazing against pistachio green, if you want to tone down this year's pastels.
Plum and Grape were our shawl purples at the end of 2013 - Plum going for the pink end of the spectrum and Grape for the smoky blue. (Royal Purple and Violet appeared in the largest size). Both of these shades slot well into this winter period, when the days getting lighter. They're less rich and opulent than royal purple- which can be a bit 'Christmassy' and seem more suitable daytime shades. Grape 332 falls into the tones of purple that are coming through on the catwalks for spring 14.
As ever, the numbers following the colour names refer to the dye chart that we use to order the shawls. I will re-blog the dye chart so it's current in the list of blogs and you can see how they relate in full size shawl form!
Blonde 109-LL, Camel 109, Bitter Chocolate 232, Black, Plum 245, Grape 332
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Pashmina Shawl Colour Crib Class of 2013! Greens!
Greens - you either love 'em or hate 'em! But over the last few seasons they've been featured in bold block emeralds and dashes of elderflowers and limes, so it has been difficult to ignore them.
We've been promised soft pastels for spring 2014 and on the catwalks these have translated into powder pinks, misty lavender blues and pale pistachios and aqua greens (see below). The designers who haven't bought into this trend are using touches of green - often teamed with fuchsia pink or blue-based mauve - to give a touch of green to a multi print, or as a 'pop' colour on an accessory.
In the shops right now, greens (in the post-sale season at least) seem altogether stronger shades.
That yellowy green elderflower or kiwi shade - see below - highlights black and white combinations in Harvey Nicks main display in Knightsbridge. Block emerald greens line up with bright oranges and stark white in Joseph Westbourne Grove, for a fresh twist that looks forward to warmer weather. Hobbs Covent Garden are currently out on their own with an autumn colour palette of burnt oranges, camels, berry reds and moss greens (see below). This is a new display and maybe, cleverly, they aren't pushing their customers into spring colours before winter is through. I'll be interested to see what they offer for spring-proper.
Our green shawl stock of 2013 has colours for now, and later in the spring...
Greens: Kiwi 161, (Seagreen 393 un-labelled. Reference for colour only - Sold Out), Moss 173, Cambridge Aqua 91-L, Mid Aqua Green 101
We've been promised soft pastels for spring 2014 and on the catwalks these have translated into powder pinks, misty lavender blues and pale pistachios and aqua greens (see below). The designers who haven't bought into this trend are using touches of green - often teamed with fuchsia pink or blue-based mauve - to give a touch of green to a multi print, or as a 'pop' colour on an accessory.
In the shops right now, greens (in the post-sale season at least) seem altogether stronger shades.
That yellowy green elderflower or kiwi shade - see below - highlights black and white combinations in Harvey Nicks main display in Knightsbridge. Block emerald greens line up with bright oranges and stark white in Joseph Westbourne Grove, for a fresh twist that looks forward to warmer weather. Hobbs Covent Garden are currently out on their own with an autumn colour palette of burnt oranges, camels, berry reds and moss greens (see below). This is a new display and maybe, cleverly, they aren't pushing their customers into spring colours before winter is through. I'll be interested to see what they offer for spring-proper.
Our green shawl stock of 2013 has colours for now, and later in the spring...
Greens: Kiwi 161, (Seagreen 393 un-labelled. Reference for colour only - Sold Out), Moss 173, Cambridge Aqua 91-L, Mid Aqua Green 101
Our final shawl colours are coming soon...
Thursday, 23 January 2014
Pashmina Shawl Colour Crib Class of 2013! Pinks and Blues!
Continuing the line-up of shawl colours that were in stock at the end of 2013, we have the perennially popular colours for pashminas - pinks and blues.
These are always a safe bet when buying a gift... you tend to know if someone is a blue or pink person, but not whether they are an orange or purple! And within these colour ranges we find that Pale Blue or Navy are at the top of the list as safe choices for blues; and Pale Pink still reigns supreme as the classic pink pashmina shade. While writing this blog, I actually had a call this morning from a regular customer needing a pale pink as a gift for a friend.
Despite this winter being heralded as 'all about mid-tone pinks,' we didn't find that pinks were any more popular than usual. This could very well turn out to be the story of next winter - very often colours take a season or two to seep into the collective consciousness and become The Thing to wear. It could herald the return of Fuchsia to our shawl stock.... I do hope so!
Pinks: Rosewood 179, Candy 19, Pale 18LL, Rose 215, and also Palest Peach 79-L, Cream 55-LL
These colour numbers relate to the dye charts that can be found in earlier blogs and give an idea how the dye chart thread colours appear in a full size shawl version.
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These are always a safe bet when buying a gift... you tend to know if someone is a blue or pink person, but not whether they are an orange or purple! And within these colour ranges we find that Pale Blue or Navy are at the top of the list as safe choices for blues; and Pale Pink still reigns supreme as the classic pink pashmina shade. While writing this blog, I actually had a call this morning from a regular customer needing a pale pink as a gift for a friend.
Despite this winter being heralded as 'all about mid-tone pinks,' we didn't find that pinks were any more popular than usual. This could very well turn out to be the story of next winter - very often colours take a season or two to seep into the collective consciousness and become The Thing to wear. It could herald the return of Fuchsia to our shawl stock.... I do hope so!
Pinks: Rosewood 179, Candy 19, Pale 18LL, Rose 215, and also Palest Peach 79-L, Cream 55-LL
These colour numbers relate to the dye charts that can be found in earlier blogs and give an idea how the dye chart thread colours appear in a full size shawl version.
Blues: Sky 348-L, Pale 48-LL, Steel 63-L, Navy 54-D, Electric 222 (un-named) and also Pewter Grey 34
to be continued.....
Friday, 17 January 2014
Pashmina Shawl Colour Crib Class of 2013! Oranges and Reds!
As we bound forward in 2014 and our Home Page changes to a Valentine theme, I feel it's useful to immortalise the 'mug shots' that I did for the Class of 2013.
I basically took a photo of each colour available in the Pashmina and Silk Shawl (70 x 180cms) size, for a special Christmas offer. In tandem with the dye charts that appear on this blog (and will appear again, to bring them up the blog list), this gives a good look at how the colours from the dye chart look in the finished shawl. And applies to many other scarves, stoles and shawls too.
As the dye charts are primarily produced as guides to embroidery silk, the colours naturally change slightly when cashmere comes into the equation. This is even more apparent on pure cashmere. Colours that zing out on silk thread are far more muted when absorbed by cashmere.
Add to this the fact that our shawls are hand-dyed and the colours are mixed by eye by the dye-masters, each batch of dyeing is then unique to that moment. Occasionally we order a standard colour and when we receive it we realise that we have to order again - the dye master has gone too dark or too pale to hit that classic shade. The benefit to the pashmina lover is that a new shade is then available and the choice of colours grows.....
Here are the Oranges: Burnt Orange 403, Bright Orange 62D (Unlabelled), Terracotta 402, Pale Coral 291
and the reds... Chilli 131, Ruby 242, Bright Red 25 (Unlabelled) and Blush Red 130.
More colours to follow next week...
I basically took a photo of each colour available in the Pashmina and Silk Shawl (70 x 180cms) size, for a special Christmas offer. In tandem with the dye charts that appear on this blog (and will appear again, to bring them up the blog list), this gives a good look at how the colours from the dye chart look in the finished shawl. And applies to many other scarves, stoles and shawls too.
As the dye charts are primarily produced as guides to embroidery silk, the colours naturally change slightly when cashmere comes into the equation. This is even more apparent on pure cashmere. Colours that zing out on silk thread are far more muted when absorbed by cashmere.
Add to this the fact that our shawls are hand-dyed and the colours are mixed by eye by the dye-masters, each batch of dyeing is then unique to that moment. Occasionally we order a standard colour and when we receive it we realise that we have to order again - the dye master has gone too dark or too pale to hit that classic shade. The benefit to the pashmina lover is that a new shade is then available and the choice of colours grows.....
Here are the Oranges: Burnt Orange 403, Bright Orange 62D (Unlabelled), Terracotta 402, Pale Coral 291
and the reds... Chilli 131, Ruby 242, Bright Red 25 (Unlabelled) and Blush Red 130.
Friday, 2 August 2013
Pink Pashmina Shawls - it's pink, pink and pink again in Autumn 2013
If you're a girly girl or not, there's a pink to suit you this season. Dusky, Candy, Fuchsia or the palest whisper pink, get ready right now for the Autumn/Winter 13/14 trend.... Team with black, brown, dark reds and if you're daring, a lovely terracotta orange. Here are some pashmina and silk shawls that are currently in stock. Enjoy!
Top : Starlight Scarf - Candy Pink; Bottom: Starlight Shawl l-r Rose Pink, Raspberry Pink
Top : Beaded Fringe Shawl - Pale Pink; Bottom l-r Fuchsia Pink, Raspberry Pink
l-r Plain Shawl - Pale Pink, Rose Pink, Peony Pink, Powder Pink, Shocking Pink
Top : Starlight Scarf - Candy Pink; Bottom: Starlight Shawl l-r Rose Pink, Raspberry Pink
Top : Beaded Fringe Shawl - Pale Pink; Bottom l-r Fuchsia Pink, Raspberry Pink
Tuesday, 16 July 2013
Bargain Box Beauties - Chiffon and Linen for summer
We're rummaging through our bargain box again, and this time we've found two shawls that are perfect for the summer.
Our super large chiffon shawls are a perennial favourite and here's a chance to grab one at a low price. This is the last shaded Daffodil yellow colour way in stock, and it has a couple of tiny marks mid-centre of the shawl. Not a problem if you buying for yourself! This is a versatile holiday shawl that is large and floaty enough to tie over a bikini by day, and work as a wrap at night. http://www.pashminasdirect.co.uk/Details.asp?ProductID=361
This glorious fuchsia linen shawl is Italian made and was a style sample. It's not been worn and there are no faults. A real find in the bargain box.... http://www.pashminasdirect.co.uk/Details.asp?ProductID=86
Our super large chiffon shawls are a perennial favourite and here's a chance to grab one at a low price. This is the last shaded Daffodil yellow colour way in stock, and it has a couple of tiny marks mid-centre of the shawl. Not a problem if you buying for yourself! This is a versatile holiday shawl that is large and floaty enough to tie over a bikini by day, and work as a wrap at night. http://www.pashminasdirect.co.uk/Details.asp?ProductID=361
This glorious fuchsia linen shawl is Italian made and was a style sample. It's not been worn and there are no faults. A real find in the bargain box.... http://www.pashminasdirect.co.uk/Details.asp?ProductID=86
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