Embroidery you feel before you see

Most embroidered stoles announce themselves through colour contrast. This one does the opposite. The threadwork is matched to the turquoise ground, so from across a room the stole reads as a plain, faintly textured length of cloth. Step closer and an entire field of paisleys, vines and small florals surfaces — all of it there the whole time.

The only colour that breaks the tonal scheme is deliberate: the large border paisleys are outlined in copper and antique gold, drawing the eye along the fall and the two ends. It is a quieter, more formal register than a multicoloured piece, and it is far easier to wear with an outfit that already has something going on.

What you are getting

• Full jama coverage — embroidery across the entire ground.
• Tonal turquoise threadwork that reads as texture.
• Copper and antique gold outlines on the border paisleys.
• Nafki work with raised, corded motif outlines.
• Soft Tusha base, light enough for indoor wear.
• Woven self-border and fringed ends.
• Easy to pair — subtle enough for a printed outfit.
• Sourced and dispatched directly from Kashmir.

How to wear it

Making it last decades

An embroidered Tusha stole is not a wash-and-wear textile. Water and detergent loosen the threadwork, and on a tonal piece any distortion in the stitching shows immediately because there is no colour to distract from it. Dry clean only — no washing at home, no wringing, no bleach.

For storage, fold along the existing folds and keep it wrapped in cotton or muslin rather than a plastic bag, which traps moisture. Keep a natural moth repellent nearby and air the piece out once or twice a season. Treated this way, a good jama stole outlives the person who bought it.