Discovering Textiles - Welsh Tapestry Blankets

The iconic Welsh bedcover, woven as two layers of fabric stitched together by the distinctive patterns, is heavy, warm and comforting. 

Created by weaving two cloths at the same time and interlinking the cloths to form geometric, intricate patterns, the pieces are often known as Welsh tapestry blankets. It was these that inspired Daniel Trivedy in 2018 to make his own versions as a comment on the proposal that Wales be the first "Nation of Sanctuary" for refugees.

Daniel's work melds together the emergency blankets given out to the newly-arrived with the characteristic Welsh iconography of the bedcovers. Printing the patterns onto the thin gold wraps, he emblazoned onto the utilitarian fabric a Welsh welcome to immigrants. The blankets thus became a symbol of hope and warmth rather than of fear and suffering. A Gold Medal for Fine Art was awarded to the work at the National Eisteddfod in Llanrwst in 2019.

For more information about the project take a look at this page. if you are interested in Welsh blankets with their fascinating history head on over to this page. You can also read more about the Welsh woollen industry here. 

(Picture courtesy of Daniel Trivedy)