Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Wool Blankets Tranformed into Wool Shirts

Our wool blankets are being made into warm clothing, thanks to
Carol Colburn of Minnesota.

Boys & Girls Wool Blanket Coats.  Photos by Scott Pederson

 

Carol teaches a two day class called
Nature's Insulator:
Sew Your Own Wool Blanket Shirt

Students personalize the basic pattern for their preferences, then they cut and sew them in the two days.  Some are beginners at sewing; it is a pretty easy project to start on.  Often they leave the buttons and trim until they are back home.  Many learn to make the shirts in the class using the Blackstone Valley Collection from Northwest Woolen Mills, and then they go home and make the shirts out of used blankets that they wash and prepare for sewing. The two little boys in one of the photos are wearing shirts made for them out of old camp blankets.
The blanket shirts are great for the cool and often damp weather of Northern Minnesota, and I have had students from Canada making these shirts too.