We are exceedingly excited to finally have our grubby little mitts on these beautiful blankets woven by Daniel Harris of London Cloth Company fame at his mill in Carmathenshire in Wales. I’ve been following his exploits for a very long time and have been blown away by his rescuing of looms, learning how to restore them and then the herculean task of taking on the restoration of Elvet Mill.

Daniel has woven fabric for many companies, for films and works consulting on developing micro-mills for other companies as well as teaching. In between all this he has been getting the looms at Elvet back up and running and restoring the building (and that is a big ongoing job!). Some of these looms were specifically used for weaving the Welsh ‘carthenni’ wool blankets, over 3 metres wide these looms weave the double cloth designs of these traditional textiles.

This first batch of blankets as in the ‘Penmachno’ design that had been woven at Elvet Mill. It consists of interlocking rings with ‘roses’ in the centre and has, what I like to call, a ‘static’ border (like the pattern has been jiggled around by static). The yarn used in these is from a great company Knoll Yarns and is the Super Soft version. After coming off the loom the blanket meterage was send off to have the fringe twisted and the fabric washed. It has come up with a beautiful soft handle.

We have four colourways in this design but they are all variations on grey. A limited monochromatic palette was used for this run, but the variations achieved is amazing. These are:

Graphite/flannel grey warp with ecru/blue weft (photo 5-6)

Graphite/flannel grey warp with ecru/black weft (photos 7-10)

Graphite/flannel grey warp with ecru weft (photos 11-13)

Flannel grey warp with black/ecru weft (photos 14-15)

The blankets aren’t cheap but this is to do with the quality of the yarn, the artisanal production and most of all the time it takes to weave a double cloth. Double cloth is woven on a warp that splits to form a back and front that intersect as the weaving progresses. These warps on carthenni blankets are two (or more colours) giving you two same-same-but-different designs in the one piece.

Made from 100% wool these are amazing to sleep under. I can’t recommend sleeping under woollen blankets enough. The weight and heat regulation is so much better than quilts, although perhaps not in the height of Australian summer!

Measurements: 165 × 220cm (including fringe). Similar to a single bed size but would still work on a queensize bed with the length running across the mattress.

Washing: I like to wash my Welsh blankets in a large bucket or trough, or even the bath. Just use cold water and your preferred washing detergent. Fill the container and add your detergent, swish it about to dissolve and then gently press the blanket down into the water. Leave to soak. Drain the soapy water out and repeat with clean water. Once rinse you can transfer it to the washing to just spin out the excess water. Line dry on a nice hot day.
Wool is antibacterial and doesn’t washing often. Airing the blankets outside on a warm is perfect for refreshing them.

Remember!! The enemy of wool is heat and agitation when washing! That way lies felting and sadness!