‘Perfection Through Perseverance’ – Yarn Spinning and Production Practices

Looms of Ladakh's production work revolves around the creation of yarns. Last year, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) introduced the New Model Charkha (NMC), a semi-mechanized spinning machine, to increase the production of uniform count Pashmina yarn in Ladakh. Streamlining the production process is also critical to ensuring a consistent supply of products at the retail store and a consistent income from sales for the artisan members.Spinning yarns is akin to spinning one’s destiny, one’s own ‘Swaraj’, for yarn makes the fabric, and the fabric imbued with meaning crafts the identity, and our identity is the fountainhead of all our deeds. This only a spinner will know. Yarn forms the core of all our production work at Looms of Ladakh. More importantly, uniform count yarns are necessary for ensuring product quality and standardization, which are crucial to our brand’s reliability and reputation, and which automatically will help build our brand value. Both in woven and knit product categories uniform yarns will ensure final products with uniform thickness and softness. Separately in wovens, uniform yarns equate to stable weaves and further open us to more high-end tailored apparel segments than our current offering. Otherwise, loosely woven handwoven fabrics are often relegated to loose-fitting garments like scarves, shawls, and blankets. To increase the production of uniform count Pashmina yarn in Ladakh, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) introduced a semi-mechanized spinning machine last year – the New Model Charkha (NMC). Pashmina being a delicate fiber can’t be spun on its own on the NMC; so, KVIC has blended Pashmina roving with cotton and has trained several women in spinning and operating the machine. Since Looms of Ladakh prides itself on offering 100% pure Pashmina and other wool products, we have been working on alternative ways of standardizing our Pashmina yarn spinning. Meanwhile, the NMC is being explored for spinning other wools in their pure state to help us achieve scale in production. The semi-mechanized scale will help reduce production stress on our spinners and help us make spinning more profitable for them.Absolute control over the hand spinning process is the hallmark of the master. Hence, last August master spinners were identified and others were graded, based on the fineness and uniformity of the spun yarn. Taking the master yarns as the benchmark, the latter have achieved the desired quality through repetitive practice, close monitoring, and encouragement by the production team in successive months.Streamlining the production process is also crucial to ensuring a continuous supply of products at the retail store and sustained income for the artisan members from a sale. For this, each member has been given a monthly production target with fixed designs based on their speed, willingness, and the brand’s requirement. This allows us to rectify errors, gauge member skills, and strengthen core capabilities in each monthly production cycle. We are a firm believer in ‘perfection through perseverance, and our current production system is helping us achieve just that!

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‘Perfection Through Perseverance’ – Yarn Spinning and Production Practices

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