Our Techniques:
Spinning Techniques
The traditional drop spindles is used for spinning of the various types of fibres into yarn especially by the older women as they are very practiced in its usage and are averse to changing over to more improved and efficient spinning wheels. We suspect that it has to do more with the convenience of the drop spindle which is small and light to carry and you can spin with it almost anywhere, at home or while you are sitting on a boulder and also keeping a watch on your cows, sheep and goats who are grazing on the slope below you.ated spinning wheel, with a large wheel which is rotated by hand which in turn rotates a spindle which is then used to spin the fiber. Know More
Vegetable Dying
At Kullu Karishma we started with chemical dying of the yarn. Fortunately within a year we realized somehow the chemical colour did not gel with kind of products we were producing. Beside the fact that procurement of chemicals was a problem and after the dying of yarn etc. the workshop started giving a very messy and unhealthy look. We started a search for traditional vegetable dying in Kullu and other parts of the Himalayas. The vegetable dying was practiced by very few people. Basically it led to individuals who used to practice vegetable dying 40 to 50 years back which was very rudimentary in nature and the art of vegetable dying had died in late 40’s with the advent of machine spun chemical dyed yarns. Know More
Knitting
Majority of the products we do are hand knitted. The products made are sweaters [pullovers, cardigans], caps, socks, gloves, leg warmers, stoles and mufflers. Various types of knitting are done which ranges from plain knits to variety of cable designs, raised patterns and their combinations. The various colored yarns are also used to make different products having a range of patterns and designs. The knitting is done in close knits to produce a clean regular fabric to the other extreme in which loose knitting is done on thick needles depending on the kind of look required as well as the type of yarn which is being used.Know More
Hand Weaving
The tradition of Wool weaving in Himachal Pradesh is of very ancient origin. Its exquisite textiles woven in tapestry weave over a twill ground in natural shades of wool .The hand weaving is done by the weavers at home and mostly men are involved in the process. The four pedal looms are used for the weaving. The commonly practiced weave for commercially sold Kullu shawls is the twill weave whereas the fabric woven for personal use is mostly woven on the traditional pit looms the simple weave is used to make the fabric. We at Kullu Karishma however weave in a number of weaves ranging from simple weave when designer yarn is used to twill weave for the plain shawl to twill weave to diamond twill or their combinations to weave yardage using angora, eri silk/tussar, local wool or Merino wool which can be handspun or machine spun on a woollen, cotton or silk/tussar warp.Know More
Crochet
A small portion of work is crocheted. The crochet is mostly done with cottons to make hand bags and purses. Here again the size and the pattern to be done will determine the time taken to make any particular product.Know More