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Introducing Appledore Heirloom Blankets

15/11/2024 Written by Sonja News

An Introduction to Our New Appledore Heirloom Blankets

Who doesn’t love to get cosy – especially this time of year? The nights are drawing in, the trees are losing their leaves and there’s a debate at the mill about the appropriate time to put the heating on at home…

Yup, it’s feeling chilly and there’s nothing that gets us more excited than cuddling up on the sofa, knitting or crochet project in hand, hot drink nearby, looking forward to a cosy few hours feeling creative and warm. If that sounds like your idea of heaven this winter then we think you might love our beautiful new Appledore Heirloom Blankets as much as we do.

Made with love, and impeccable attention to detail, in a very small batch, these very special blankets are a celebration of local fibre and craftsmanship.

When we decided to create some blankets to offer you folks this winter, we knew we had to use our Appledore fibre (we just love those heathered shades!) These blankets are woven from our Appledore DK yarn, which is 100% Devon Wool sourced locally via the British Wool Marketing Board. While the yarn is spun at our mill in South Molton as usual, the blankets are woven at Spencer & Bates Weavers near Honiton, in East Devon.

Spencer & Bates Weavers – A History

Brothers, Thomas and Daniel Bates, and their partner Rex Spencer collectively inherited the business from their dads, who started out rescuing vintage looms and machinery years ago, just like our Mr Arbon! They first met John when they all worked out of nearby Coldharbour Mill, before moving on to set up their own mills nearby.

Spencer & Bates is a family run weaving company, specialising in the manufacture of quality flatwoven rugs, runners, and blankets. Over 35 years ago, Colin Bates and Rex Spencer began restoring old shuttle looms with the aim of returning them to their former glory, and producing high-quality, woven cloth, in traditional methods. Today, their sons Thomas, Daniel, and Rex, keep the heritage alive, working together as two families interwoven through a shared passion in traditional weaving crafts. With a lineage of weaving history stretching back four generations, they continue to hold true to the ethics and production techniques established by their fathers in the late 80’s, which, in fact, have barely changed since the dawn of the industrial revolution.

They have woven these beautiful heirloom blankets for us on a vintage 1950s broad-width Hattersley ‘Standard’ shuttle loom in a large check pattern on a twill weave structure. The three colours used combine to make nine different patch variations creating an interesting and pleasing interplay of shades.

100% British-Made

All other fibre processing and finishing was done in Yorkshire and the Scottish Borders, so these really are 100% British-made blankets, lovingly created using vintage machinery by small scale processors in limited run batches. We have had the most fun designing these stunners, and we hope you love them too!

Appledore DK is our hardiest yarn and it has been gently finished for extra softness. However, while the feel of the blankets might be smooth, they are certainly hardy enough for homewares that will last a lifetime, while still maintaining the beautiful woven pattern definition and heathered colours of the yarn.

They are a large throw size, with a beautiful fringe on the shorter ends, which makes them perfect for displaying artfully on the back of a chair, snuggling up on the sofa, or for a little extra warmth on your bed for those extra cold winter nights.