10/03/2013

Blanket coverage

Wool is one of the most sustainable materials. Sheep and goats and are plentiful around the world, and they're not harmed by having their fleeces sheared or combed.

Demand for beautiful wool throws and blankets has been growing steadily over the past decade. They're useful to keep us warm but they're also a great design accessory – an old chair or sofa can look instantly rejuvenated with a throw artfully draped over it, and a bed can take on a boutique-hotel look with a lovely blanket to add colour and softness.

Brightly coloured, super soft mohair throws are this season's interior must-have, and Mantas Ezcaray's collections show just how vibrant and luxurious this yarn - which comes from Angora goats - can be. People tend to think of it as being fine and delicate, which is often the case with knitwear, but in the hands of the expert spinners and weavers at Mantas Ezcaray, mohair becomes rich and springy.

Based in the town of Ezcaray in the Rioja region's high Oja Valley, this unique company dates back to 1930 and remains a family-owned business. It continues to hand-make products that many other textile companies long ago turned over to high-tech machines. Here you see highly-skilled workers take raw wool yarns and cashmere fibres, wash, dye and comb them and weave them into blankets, throws and scarves. While new looms have been installed over the years, you can see the original ones if you visit the factory – and visitors are very welcome.

The range of products and colours is wide and customers have a choice of mohair, cashmere, alpaca wool, sheep's wool and nilhair, a mix of 70 per cent wool and 30 per cent polyamide, which gives extra durability.

Choose from plain hues or patterns in a wide choice of colourways. If very intense colours are needed, mohair is recommended because this yarn absorbs dye exceptionally well.

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Blanket coverage

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