Mindful Spring Blanket
All photographs and work by Eleanor Sofia Walker except where stated otherwise.
A fine merino wool, woven blanket. Created by weaving five panels and stitching them each together by hand. The blanket draws on the concept of 'hands on, minds off', slow textiles and mindfulness. Inspired by the word and feelings around 'hope', with fresh and bright colours, as a reminder of the times and seasons to come - of spring and summer, growth and warmth.
With the low feelings brought on by the pandemic and lockdown, I responded to this by creating a blanket that focusses on mindfulness and wellbeing. The very nature of a blanket is comforting, but there are other ways this blanket is good for wellbeing. For example, the repetitive notion of stich has been known to be calming, with an almost meditative effect. Being stuck inside for a lot of my final year of university over winter, I longed for the breezy, sunshine-filled mornings of spring, so I channelled this into my weaving to create a blanket that used colours that emulated my feelings around hopefulness and happiness.
Research & Inspiration
From left to right, I took inspiration from the fresh colours in this bright floral twill fabric by Ysé Paris. I used the cherry blossom blooms in spring (photo sourced online) and the colours/feelings around that time as a point of focus. For me these flowers the are the quintessential symbol of spring. For ideas about the weaving, the pattern and material etc, I looked at a twill lambswool sample I created in a previous project exploring cosiness through colour. Research into Josef Albers's Interaction of Colour was also an inspiration for ideas about the way certain colours compliment each other and how we feel when looking at them.
Development
From left to right, I used Figma to test out different colours, overlapping combinations and compositions. I also created a maquette/ prototype blanket, featuring 3 hand stitched woven panels, fringing (made by using a hand operated fringing tool) and tabby borders.
Process
Using a small tabletop loom, I worked around the confines of the maximum weaving width of 15 inches, weaving 5 separate panels in a twill, and then stitching them together by hand.
Final Outcome
Woven with a beautifully soft, fine merino wool, the blanket is made from 100% natural materials. Due to its modular and handmade nature, it can be easily repaired or upcycled. This method of creating a full sized blanket on a small tabletop loom means that weavers who cannot afford large floor looms can create their own blankets, and do something positive for their wellbeing at the same time.
