Today is the last working day of the year for many and with the weather still bitterly cold with temperatures in most places across Wales well below freezing, I shall be snuggling underneath my woollen blanket tonight – eagerly awaiting a visit from a very special person. The woollen blanket on my bed was a wedding gift received by my parents over forty years ago and probably woven at one of the numerous small woollen mills which were located in Cardiganshire.
The earliest blankets were usually made on a single loom and consisted of two narrow widths of fabric joined down the centre by hand but the blanket on my bed is a so-called ‘tapestry’ quilt, which was probably considered to be the most typically Welsh of all woollen bed covers. These quilts were not, in fact, made from tapestry at all but rather a double-weave cloth usually woven in two-ply woollen yarn. This double-cloth structure produced practical and hard-wearing bedcovers, as well as bold reversible patterns. It has a characteristically coarse texture. Due to environmental conditions and an irregular diet, sheep indigenous to Wales produce a comparatively rough fleece and this is reflected in the graininess of many blankets.
On the People’s Collection Wales website you will find many examples of the traditional Welsh blanket and also a digital story – The Mystery of the Caernarfon Blanket created by pupils from Ysgol Gyfun Emlyn. Keep warm and a merry Christmas to you all!