Layers of Meaning

Felted Blankets

Shrunken (felted) old wool sweaters plus some stitching on an old Singer sewing machine = cozy blankets. Crispina Ffrench has taken this concept and made it into a business. Her web site describes the process: "Our Basic Blankets are made from softened recycled wool sweaters. We cut 7" squares from carefully brushed and felted garments and incorporate fresh details in each finished piece. Basic Blankets are edged with colorful decorative scalloping."

The blog Treehugger, shows the power of this kind of recycling, "Over 150,000 lbs (68,000kg) of discarded clothing has been salvaged to make Crispina blankets. Using mostly wool products, they wash garments and sort them into particular themes before combing the elements into a new whole. Quirky elements of the original apparel are retained to fashion unique goods."

Katie at Jejune's blog d.i. your own damn self gives directions as well as insight as to her experience of making a blanket from scraps of old, felted woolen sweaters. Lots of tips on what to look for and little glitches to dodge. Great photos of satin stitching the seams and all those other details that most magazine articles gloss over.

The blanket on the left is by Crispina. Katie at Jejune created the blanket on the right. And luck is with me! Our local thrift shop is having a 'bag day' sale starting in 20 minutes!
Additional links on the process:

• winter domestic productivity project #3: the felted wool sweater blanket


• Start small with a pillow

For those of you who are also magazine-packrats, the Dec 2002-Jan 2003 Threads Magazine featured an article on making felted slippers (with any leftover felt!)