How wool blankets are made

The word blanket comes from the French word for white, which named a thick, napped, undyed wool cloth.

stations: 5
things upstream: 22
raw sources: 9
steps from the ground: 8

The short version

A wool blanket starts with fibers that are carded, spun and woven on a wide loom. The cloth is then milled, a wash with warm water and friction that tightens the weave and shrinks it to size. It is dried and raised by a brushing machine into a soft nap, cut into pieces, and bound with satin or whipstitching.

Card and spin the wool

Graded wool, sometimes dyed in the fleece first, goes through a carding machine that mixes the fibers and readies them for spinning. Spinning twists the fibers into a bulky yarn.

Goes in
Wool fleece
Weave a wide cloth

A wide loom interlaces the yarn into a heavy cloth. A single blanket can need 1,300 warp threads, and the loom is programmed for the yarn and pattern.

Goes in
Wool yarn
Mill the cloth

The cloth is wound around large cylinders in warm water. Friction locks the fibers closer together, the weave tightens, and the fabric shrinks to its actual size.
Dry and raise the nap

The blanket is dried, then a raising machine brushes the surface and pulls up tiny fiber ends. The raised nap traps warm air and gives the cloth its soft feel.
Cut and bind the edges

The cloth is cut into individual pieces, and the raw edges are finished with satin binding, whipstitching or a fringe. A care label is sewn on before folding and packing.

Goes in
Sewing thread

End of the lineWool blanket

Worth repeating

The word blanket comes from blanke, the Old French word for white, which named a heavy, napped, undyed wool weave.
Dyed fleece can be blended like paint before spinning, which gives a mottled yarn called melange.