Family Blanket

I usually aim for a finished length of six feet for my wool and cotton blankets, which is 183 cm. Some blankets are a bit less because of the pattern sequence - or my miscalculation of the woven length before shrinkage during washing. And some blankets are longer, for the same reasons.

When I weave Shetland wool blankets, I plan on seven blankets for a project. This works out to 18.5 turns of the back beam when warping. (My counting is generally more reliable than the yarn meter on the tension box; if the yarn slips off I'm lost, so I now just count aloud.)

For the 15th batch of Shetland wool blankets, I added an extra half metre and knew it would be plenty to weave one extra-long blanket at the end of the warp. Correct - this one is 2.8 m long, which is over 9 feet.

SH092 | 100% wool | 280 cm x 127 cm (110" x 50") | $325

This blanket is headed to the Station House Gallery next month for my show with potter Joan Beck entitled "To Drive the Cold Winter Away." It will help a family do just that!