Laura's Loom Rawthey Blanket
The Rawthey Blanket combines graphic design with subtle, mute colouring to create a warm and contemporary piece. All of the wool in this blanket is sourced from farms within a 30 mile radius of Laura's studio.
Key Values
The Rawthey Blanket was named for a river, but was inspired by a bridge. Indeed, the names of the different colours evoke various elements of a bridge: stone, iron, steel, rock, copper, and shadow.
With its subtle graphic design and gentle blushes of colour, more ephemeral where the tones are close, bold where the colours contrast, the Rawthey Blanket is a blend of hard-wearing but softly finished mountain and lowland wools, including Hebridean, Texel and Shetland.
Approximate size: 160cm x 260cm plus fringe.
For more information on this product please email info@igolo.org
All of their raw materials are sourced locally, within a 30-mile radius of home operations. They visit the farmers every year to collect the wool; this is to ensure a quality product, while also maintaining relationships with the local farmers. They try to keep transport miles to a minimum: wool sourced directly from farms is grown, scoured, spun, dyed, woven and knitted at mills within 150 miles of home operations. Most of their customers are UK-based, which also helps to keep the entire process localised. Working with the same local companies over a long time builds up strong relationships which also works to preserve the local economy. The workshop itself is heated by an air-source heat pump, and the looms used are carbon neutral.
Laura’s Loom sources their wool directly from local farmers, and the wool is then processed and finished by a variety of companies who all keep to a high level of environmental compliance. This includes scouring, spinning, dyeing, weaving, and finishing the yarn.
Where possible, Laura’s Loom offers work experience to young people and students just starting out in their careers. In addition, they give back a portion of their sales turnover to local charities each year. In 2021 funds were donated to the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Fund, and in 2020 a substantial amount was donated to the Cumbria Community Foundation's Covid fund.
Furthermore, Laura’s Loom doesn’t throw away any of the waste produced during the weaving process. Instead, this is recycled back into other small projects or given to others for their own creative endeavours. Their products are endlessly reusable, and can be fed to a compost bin when they have reached the end of their lives.
Wool types: Hebridean, Black Welsh Mountain, Cheviot, Texel and Shetland.
Wool source: Cumbria & Scotland.
Size: approx 165cm x 230cm + fringe.
Yarn spun in Huddersfield; blankets woven and finished in the Scottish Borders.
Recommended care: cool hand wash or dry clean. Do not tumble dry. Use a warm iron to remove creases. Can be machine washed at 30C on a gentle wool cycle.
Delivery fee is £7 per blanket.
Laura's Loom
Laura's Loom's guiding principles include keeping it local, maintaining provenance, and giving back to their local community. They proudly support Britain's textile heritage, aiming to keep it relevant for future generations to come.