Thursday 30 June 2016

Welsh Tapestry Patterns for Home and Fashion Accessories



Anyone visiting Wales can hardly avoid noticing that there are a lot of sheep - about four sheep for every person living in Wales!

And where there are sheep, there's a woollen industry.

Today, most Welsh wool is used in the carpet industry but in earlier centuries, almost every cottage had a loom for weaving blankets and clothing, often in the traditional Welsh Tapestry patterns. And some of the original Welsh Woollen Mills survive today, some as museums, others as working mills using patterns found in the Public Records Office and dating back to the 1700s.

In earlier times, Welsh Tapestry blankets were given as wedding gifts and dowries and were kept as family heirlooms. More recently a Welsh Tapestry blanket was presented to President Obama when he visited Wales.

Everyone knows about Scottish tartans but Welsh Tapestry is less well-known, despite its long history and its 'revivals' at various times since the 1960s. Blankets and other textile gifts with these patterns, such as cushions and coats, are as likely to be found in Welsh Craft and Gift Shops as wooden 'Love Spoons' and Little Welsh Red Dragons.

But Welsh Tapestry blankets are expensive. Of course, they are not really 'tapestries' but a unique type of 'double-weave' cloth, sometimes known as double-cloth, and the weaving process involves, as the name implies, a complicated interlocking of two layers of cloth. So, while they are warm and hard-wearing as well as attractive, they are not cheap to produce.

As someone who lives in Wales and who is also addicted to pattern-making - and especially drawn to those with some kind of traditional or ethnic origin - it was only a matter of time before I turned my attention to Welsh Tapestry patterns. 


And I have chosen a few of them to use as patterns on non-textile gifts, such as coffee mugs and serving trays as well as cases and sleeves to protect your electronic devices!




Here are some of them -
Click on the image below to see the full collection - 



Click on the image below to see the full collection - 

Click on the image below to see the full collection - 




Click on the image below to see the full collection - 




Click on the image below to see the full collection - 

Welsh Tapestry Sleeves
Welsh Tapestry Sleeves  



Fabrics in 'faux' Welsh Tapestry, in seven types, suitable for anything from crafts and dressmaking to home furnishings are also available in my 

Here are just a few of them -

And if you'd like a 'Welsh Tapestry' fabric or gift in a different colour combination, just contact me through my Posh'n'Painterly Cymru store
 and I will quickly create it for you at no extra cost. 


PS If you are interested in learning more about Welsh Tapestry, 
a website to get you started -











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