NAMDAS PROCESS
NAMDAS PROCESS
All Kashmir houses, whether it is a rich man’s house or a poor ones, everyone has arrangements of sitting
on the floor. They take care of their guests sitting down on the floor. And the floor gets agonizingly
cold to sit upon during winters. And for saving all during winters and to provide all with a cozy
sitting arrangement on the floor, namda would come to rescue.Namda making technology is very simple
and the production process does not require any expensive equipments . It uses inferior quality of
wool which is not suitable for appareal making and hence ,otherwise , it might not have been used
economically .
1. To form a namda raw wool is first cleaned of the impurities.
2. Wool is mixed with some quantities of cotton.
3. It is then evenly spread on a mat or jute cloth.
4. It is continually moistened with a special solution.
5. The wool is pressed into felt by beating, treading or applying pressure.
6. Patterns are created using embroidery or applique work.
Most namdas are made out of white, beige, brown, gray, or black natural wool. They may be dyed using
special techniques before felting.Kashmiri namdas are famous for chain stitch embroidery. The embroidery
is so intricate and detailed that the namda almost resembles an oriental rug despite that it is not knotted.
Namdas are much less expensive than the other knotted rugs and carpets. The quality is judged by the felting
and amount of wool.Prices vary with the percentage of wool – a namda containing 80 percent wool
being more expensive than one containing 20 percent wool. Embroidery is also done on namdas to
make it more beautiful.