Beautifully knitted and warm Orenburg downy shawl warms well in the coldest weather and beautifies any woman. In many families openwork Orenburg downy shawls are inherited from mother to daughter as an expensive family heirloom.
The history of the Orenburg downy shawl
For the first time these products were known for their fluff of Orenburg or Angra goats in the middle of the 18th century. They were described in his study "The Experience of Goat Hair" by P.I. Rychkov in the year 1766. He also proposed to put the knitting of feathers on the flow, thus creating a permanent production. However, there is information that the puffins of the Orenburg province were engaged in viscous handkerchiefs long before Rychkov's research. Orenburg hand-woven handkerchiefs have become widely known in Russia and abroad due to the excellent quality of wool used in their manufacture. It is very thin, warm and, at the same time, sturdy. Even before the revolution, a large amount of Orenburg wool was exported to Europe, in particular, to France. The finished products were also exported abroad, and in England even their handkerchiefs appeared, on which the mark "Made for Orenburg" was made, however, they could not compete in quality and beauty of mating with real Russian scarves. Products from the fluff of the Orenburg goat were widely in demand in Russia, and with time, along with the samovar, the Tula gingerbread and a cap with ear-flaps , the Orenburg down cloth became a symbol of our country and abroad.
After the revolution, the production of handkerchiefs did not stop, and in 1936 the factory of Orenburg down fabrics was opened, where the products were knitted on special machines. Since then, there are hand-made and machine-knitted downy shawls. There is much debate about which is better, but each type of production has its advantages. Handmade scarves always have a unique pattern, while machine-knitted Orenburg downy shawls have standard patterns. Hand-tied handkerchiefs can lose shape after washing, while a handkerchief made with a machine, with the addition of viscose yarns, always retains its shape securely. And yet it is believed that handmade kerchiefs are softer and fluffy than those made at the factory.
How to choose an Orenburg shawl?
Real Orenburg downy shawls are of several types, depending on the way of mating:
- Usual feather shawl or shawl - autumn is a warm, dense knit garment intended for wearing on cold days. They can be used as a headdress or warm your shoulders and neck. There are gray, rarely white.
- Orenburg downy cobweb-cobweb is a delicate work, fine knitting, rather acting as an ornament, rather than as a warm garment. It is made of the finest yarn of the highest quality.
- Tippet - wide scarf or cape, according to the method of mating is similar to cobweb.
Depending on where you want to wear a handkerchief, its appearance is chosen. Further it is necessary to be defined with a way of binding. Hand-knitting is unique, however, such products are much more expensive, and for a while a new hand-knitted handkerchief will leave traces of fluff on your clothes. Machine binding eliminates this, but these shawls are coarser to the touch and have standard patterns. Also in the product is worth checking the quality of down. To do this, experts offer a simple test: it is worthwhile to take both hands only for the fuzz of the kerchief and try to pick it up. If it was possible - then you have a quality thing, if the fluff broke off and the shawl fell - then the raw materials were of poor quality.
In addition, it is worth to buy scarves only in specialized stores, as in the markets and in trains for Orenburg down scarves are often issued products from Dagestan or Uzbekistan, which do not possess all the unique qualities of a scarf from Orenburg.
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