3 year journey

My latest textile production actually started 3 years ago in late 2018, when I bought a year's harvest of Mongolian-grade Cashmere, from the only farm in England producing Cashmere fibre.

The farm in England producing cashmere fibre

At the time I had no idea how long a journey it would be from initiating the project to it's completion in 2020, to now as I focus on retailing the finished scarves.

A large part of the process was spent in developing a beautiful blanket scarf design which would be trans-seasonal, allowing for year-round use through warmer and cooler months. And a design that is both beautiful and functional. Which would be as special in its colour and weave design as in its quality of fibre.

Cashmere really is the most luxurious natural fibre there is, in terms of softness, comfort, breathability and warmth.

I spent many days with Bristol Weaving Mill testing different dip-dyeing options and trialling them out on the loom.

We had to co-ordinate this for when other productions were finishing on the loom, and we could test small strips of my dyed skeins on the ends to see how they turned out. As there simply isnt the time or finances to cover hiring the loom simply for R+D. This took many months before we could know the exact measurments of how many centimentres I could dip the cashmere skeins into my dye vats, to create a suitable patterning effect on the woven cloth. A long process, but very much one of passion!

In 2019 we could understand how best to do the weaving process to create a suitable patterning effect for our design, and I could also know the measurements for dip dyeing accurately.

I wanted to use traditional British heritage dye plant colours for this project, as with the @Bristolcloth project. And I also wanted the quality of the dyes to reflect the exquisiste luxury of the fibre and the quality of craftsmanship in the weaving design.

So, of course, I wanted to work with organic indigo dye, the most luxurious of all natual plant dyes, to create an exquisite blue and organic madder root for a complimentary dusty pink. Both dye plant colours you will find throughout British history and I personally think they are the most beautiful and rich of all our traditional natural dyes.

On a personal level, I also find this combination of colours to be especially beautifil, and one I have always enjoyed creating in my own wardrobe. The mixture of cool blue and warm pink I think also allows for use through each of the British seasons.

In terms of trans-seasonality, I felt that a dynamic pattern which allowed for many different looks, would help to give many uses and styles to one scarf, which I think is important when it comes to making more use out of one piece. It can be worn and styled to give many different looks, by positioning the scarf in ways that you can see more or less of diffenet colours and pattern structures on the cloth.

And by using the dip-dyeing process, we were also able to create 30 completely different scarves from one production using one weave design. As if we had handwoven 30 individual scarves but without the huge extra expense this way of making entails; allowing each person who invests in the scarf to have an original design of their own, unlike any other, without paying a premium price tag, yet still having an ultimately luxurious and special piece.

The dyeing process itself took about 7-10 days from organising quantities of yarn for each dye job, winding cone to skein, scouring, mordanting, preparing dyes, dyeing and with indigo, this means reducing the vat, waiting for it to be in a dyeable state, dipping 3 times, washing, reducing the vat, dipping three more time, and so on for about 20 dips until the colour is suitably dark, then washing, drying and winding back onto the cone for weaving.

So, having now produced three different local soil-to-soil textile productions in England, I have a better understanding of the amount of time and care that is entailed and how each projct is a huge undertaking.

I am completley in love with the English Cashmere Indigo + Madder blanket scarves and it really fills me with joy to see that others also appreciate this level of sustainability and quality of craftsmanship and style, by the very fact that they are being bought and invested in.

If you would like to invest in your own piece to take you through the coming seasons, please visit my online store here.

Do you like trans-seasonal style? Have any of your projects taken much longer to complete? Do you love indigo & cashmere?