Known as the “Yarn of the Gods”, Vicuña earned this reputation for its divine properties: it is one of the world’s finest fibres. Its sheer scarcity, which also means that it is extremely hard to come by, contributes to its increasing value, making it all but priceless. 

The fleeces are shorn by hand or collected along the paths of the high Andean mountain plateaux, where the animals live in the wild. Vicuña SO much softer and finer than cashmere. Once tried you’ll realise how superior it is to cashmere.

This vicuña wool comes from Peru where the wool comes only in plain colours and quite a lot thicker. Maharani Textile in Jodhpur India has a group of artisans who carefully refine this delicate wool to make it finer and thinner before many of them are then embroidered.

It takes one month to weave one plain shawl and an additional 5-6 months to hand embroider them. They are a labour of love and each one is unique. The more intricate embroidering can take up to 4 years to complete and the vicuña wool is so fine that the embroidery is done with horsehair rather than a needle. The end result is a stunning and totally unique scarf that has been made with love over many, many hours.

The embroidered scarves can take up to 4 years to make depending on the complexity of each one and the vicuña is so fine that a horse’s hair is used for the needle... this beauty, embroidered with birds, will set you back £480 and is worth EVERY PENNY! Plain ones with a coloured border are available too.

Maharani Textile

Not the catchiest of names, but who cares when the scarves are this soft and the craftsmanship so exquisite! I never travel (even if not going far) without a scarf and these are the best. The scarves are made from vicuña wool, which is the softest, most delicate wool in the world. Some of the embroidered scarves take up to 4 years to make.

Prices from £180 and they are worth EVERY. SINGLE. PENNY.

www.maharanishopping.com