Craftswomen's Techniques in Creating Down Masterpieces

The famous Orenburg down shawl. As soon as you say these words, you feel warmer. Down knitting as a craft originated more than two centuries ago, and to this day these most delicate creations of Orenburg craftswomen never cease to amaze us with their beauty and the uniqueness of their patterns.

     

Knitting a down shawl has long been a family business in many homes of the Orenburg region. The secrets of the craft are passed down from generation to generation. Girls are taught this magical skill from childhood. The uniqueness of Orenburg shawls lies not only in the finest down of Orenburg goats but also in the originality and uniqueness of their openwork patterns. The craftswomen of the Orenburg region have their own techniques for creating down masterpieces. What are they?

As is well known, a simple down shawl is a warm, thick item, usually grey. It is distinguished by dense knitting, and only the border running around the entire perimeter of the shawl is knitted in an openwork pattern. Finished down shawls are knitted square and can have sides of different lengths: from 110 to 150 cm.

                              

As a rule, making one down shawl takes 310–450 g of raw down. Before starting to knit, the down must be prepared. It is carefully sorted, cleaned of dust and debris, the stiff hairs are removed and it is combed out with a comb. If the down is dirty, it is recommended to wash it in a warm soapy solution and then dry it well.

Once the down is ready, spinning begins. Either a spindle or an electric spinning wheel is used for this. To keep the finished item from being stiff, care must be taken that the thread is not overtwisted during spinning.

To make the down item last you a long time, the down thread is combined with a base thread. For a fine gossamer shawl and a stole, silk thread is used as the base, and in rare cases viscose or cotton. For knitting gossamer shawls, craftswomen use 2/3 down and 1/3 silk.

     

A shawl turns out well if it is knitted by hand from twisted yarn. To do this, the knitter spins a dense thread from goat down and then spins this thread onto a silk or cotton thread. Craftswomen work with metal needles No. 1.5 and 2. As a rule, they prefer short needles.

As patterns for their items, many knitters use natural motifs: snowflakes, ears of grain, leaves, berries, honeycombs and others. No two patterns are alike, so it is simply impossible to find identical creations by Orenburg craftswomen. Some patterns read well on both the front and the back. Other shawls – only on the front. To get an intricate pattern, the knitter can combine small elements in different ways.

Recently, besides shawls, Orenburg craftswomen have been knitting other down items: mittens, scarves, hats, vests… There is a trend to decorate down items with embroidery and beads. This gives the handmade creation even more refinement and originality. In the Orenburg region, machine knitting is used alongside hand knitting, but if you appreciate Russian traditions, you should choose items created by the magical hands of Orenburg knitters.