Pushp or wool is the basic ingredient in the making of Shu. It is obtained from the backs of the small, local and unique breed of sheep in Chitral called Kailey. The Kailey cannot climb to the source of the best grass for them which grow high up in the mountains. A man travels up the mountains and brings the fodder down to the Kailey. Thus the sheep are pampered and saved the strenuous trip.

Before shearing, the Kailey is washed thoroughly in clean glacial water to clean the wool and obtain a better quality of Shu.

A tool called a Sareel is used to shear the hair from the back of the sheep in a very traditional manner. This shearing process is called Brainik.

The wool is normally available in four natural colors: black, white, grey and brown. A reddish color is achieved by dying the wool in walnut hulls. Walnut dyeing is called Roik. In this process, walnut shells are put into water and boiled, and then the wool is mixed into this water to get this organic, traditional color.

As there is moisture and grease in the wool when it is obtained from the sheep, a fine quality of white soil called Puchuti is mixed with the wool before carding which removes the moisture from the wool and allows the fiber to be separated. This process is called Pinjnik.

The process of carding is called Dundik or Dumik. A tightly strung bow called Dundini is repeatedly vibrated over a pile of opened wool, bringing the fibers up into a loose, fluffy mass.

After carding, the wool is distributed among the women members of the family for teasing. A handful of wool is called Dappi when it is in the process of teasing. After finishing, it is called Pizhonu, it is placed in baskets called Wahkitti, and these are passed on to the spinner.

Gaik – spinning is the most delicate job. Women spin the wool on a spinning wheel called the Chakur. Thread for Shu is made in two varieties. The single-ply thread for warp is called Tone.

Wore is rolled on a Thasurak by the spinner, ready for weaving. Thasurak Daru is a bobbin. It is an 8-10 long hollow piece of wood with a 1/4 diameter. It is used to hold rolls of single-ply thread in the boat shuttle for weaving.

Maku is an oval-shaped wooden boat shuttle, with sharp edges at both ends. It has an empty abdomen with holes to facilitate the fitting of the thasurak inside. It has a hole for the passage of thread. The weaver rotates it left to right for weaving.

Maku is the most delicate and beautiful piece among the spinning and weaving tools.

Tone is kept in Phani, a large cone-shaped ball wrapped onto a stick until it is rolled as a thread ball called Pindalu.

Beaming/warping- the weaving preparation process before warping the thread through the heddle of the loom so that the threads do not tangle.

The tone is warped on the heddle of the hand loom by the spinner or a skilled woman called Binak.

Weaving is an important skill and the weaver is always a man. He processes the wool on a handloom called Sakhertoom. The best quality of Shu in Chitral is called Moghekan because it was created by the weavers of Mogh village in Lotkoh, Chitral.

After weaving, the Shu is washed. It is felted in hot spring water (Garam Chashma), where it is washed and beaten with a stick (Moraik) to make the fibers cling together and produce a wind proof finished fabric. Traditionally, the resin (Binogh) which is wild almond gum crushed to form a powder and comes from a native tree called Kandu is substituted for soap.

After washing, the Shu is twisted around a wooden rod which is fixed into a stone wall. The other end of the rod, which is not attached to anything, is turned around to squeeze all the excess water from the material.

Calendaring is done to pull the wool into shape while it is still wet.

Shu is dried (Chuchuaik) by hanging it from the trees, or laying it across flat rocks, stone walls or anywhere else that is available. The Shu is then rolled up, and this process is called Wohthik.