... Back From The Hindu Kush

I had a wonderful time! It was very exciting to visit Garam Cheshma the village, high in the mountains on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan where shu is made. The setting was exquisitely beautiful and the people involved in making shu were at once dignified and also very helpful to me. To witness the spinning and weaving processes was something else, the machines used could have been plucked from a scene hundreds of years ago. It would be wrong to understand them as primitive though, they were obviously efficient and ergonomic. The skill involved in using them was impressive and I now have a much better understanding of the labour which goes into the fabric.

I have pasted some screen captures from the film I took at Garam Cheshma below.

The Kailey Sheep

The wool we use comes from a sheep called the kailey. I don't know as much as I should do about this sheep and what I do know may be a bit iffy. But, I think it is unique to Chitral and it is interesting to environmentalists as it doesn't graze the high pastures since grazing the upper slopes of the Hindu Kush contributes to erosion and flash floods. It still gets succulent fodder from the high pastures though, as shepherds make the climb instead of their flocks and lovingly bring back sack loads of scythed grass for the waiting sheep. It must be worth it as the wool is very much prized and costs a lot more than comparable mountain wools.

As a tribute to this fine sheep and because I need something to print on to T-shirts I made a drawing of the Kailey....

A Woodcut of Tirich Mir

The wool for our garments is spun in the shadow of Tirich Mir, the Highest mountain in the Hindu Kush. It is washed in streams fed by the mountain's glaciers and the sheep which provide it graze the mountain's foot hills. Therefore I thought it was important that an image of Tirich Mir was somehow incorporated into our first collection, so I engraved a woodcut of the mountain as seen from the south. The woodcut was then printed onto paper using the burnish technique and finally digitally printed onto cotton. The printed cotton image will be sewn onto the inside of the second jacket in the collection.

The wood cut in progress: I used an engraving tool and a knife brought in Chitral, North West Pakistan.

The wood block after being inked.

Printed onto fabric.

Our Second Jacket Finished

Like our first jacket our second jacket takes the elegant cut of a traditional Englishman's suit jacket and sets it against our star material: the famous shu wool of the Hindu Kush mountains. Shu is prized for its insulating properties, it's thick, but also lightweight and it's hard wearing as well as being soft to touch. As a nod to the traditional garments of the Hindu Kush we have done away with Western lapels and given our jacket a clean shawl collar, which unlike the first jacket is designed to be worn down. A small horn button is at the ready to fasten the collar, whilst leaving enough space to tuck a scarf in, for extra warmth and to protect the wearer's neck from the jacket's wool.  The collar is backed with durable, but flexible kaki moleskin. The coat is finished with patch pockets, three horn buttons and a sweeping hem ending in a single vent tail.

The Wool

Our wool is unique to the Hindu Kush. Shu, as the wool is known locally has been developed over generations to insulate against freezing temperatures and biting winds. It is thick and spongy, providing the wearer with maximum insulation whilst remaining light and flexible. Shu also has a felted finish which lends it a factor of wind proofing that comparable wools can’t match.

Shu is produced household by household using techniques which have not changed in centuries. No part of the shu manufacture process is mechanized, this means that shu is a handmade fabric in the truest sense of the term. The density of weave and thickness of felting vary subtly from household to household, leaving us with a product that bears the signatures of the artisans who made it.

Shubinak, our partner in Pakistan is partially owned by the artisans who make shu, ensuring that profit from the sale of their crafts finds its way back into the community.

Shu is made in settlements at the foot of Tirich Mir (7,700 m), the highest mountain in the Hindu Kush.  The production of the fabric is intimately linked to the mountains. Shepherds gather by hand the choicest fodder for their flocks from high altitude pastures, which are only revealed at the melting of the winter snow. Spring melt waters feed the streams in which shu is washed and felting happens in naturally occurring hot springs overlooked by Tirich Mir. For images of the production of shu please see www.shubinak.com.

Shu is made in nine laborious stages: first the sheep is washed and then sheared by hand. The wool is then treated with a locally occurring fine white soil to remove moisture and grease. Next a bow is vibrated over the wool to separate the fibers ready for teasing and then spinning. The spun yarn is then woven into fabric which is felted, stretched and hung out in the sun to dry.

In Chitral shu is generally woven into three items of clothing, the pakol, the patu and the shu-coat, all sported by the man above. The pakol is the distinctive cap worn by the peoples of the Hindu Kush, the patu is a blanket which is worn like a shawl in winter and the shu-coat is a long button-less, loose-cut overcoat.

Images to be reproduced only with the permission on Hindu Kush ltd.