Storage
Fold, never hang — fine fibre creeps under its own weight and a shawl will distort along the shoulder line within a season. Store in cotton or muslin, never plastic, which traps moisture against the fibre. Refold along different lines each season so a crease never becomes a weakness.
Cleaning
Dry clean only, with someone who has handled pashmina before. The risk is the pressing, not the solvent: an aggressive press takes the loft out permanently. Spot-treat immediately with a barely damp cloth and no soap, working inwards from the outside of the mark. Never steam tilla directly — heat and moisture tarnish the metal wrap, and it does not come back.
Pilling, pulls and repair
Fine fibre pills; it is a property of the material. Use a comb or a sweater stone, never a rotary shaver, which cuts the surrounding fibres. Ease a pulled thread back from the reverse with a needle — never cut it, because on handwoven cloth it will run. Kashmir has a specialist repair tradition, rafugari, and a skilled rafugar can reweave damage almost invisibly.