Laura’s Loom, The Howgill Range
100% natural luxury from the Yorkshire Dales
- Howgill classics from Laura’s Loom
It all starts with a couple of hundred Bluefaced Leicester sheep – those noble roman-nosed creatures shivering in their fine robes under northern skies – and their friendly hardworking hill farmers, who look after them in all weathers.
Then there’s shearing, skirting, sorting, scouring, carding, spinning, coning, warping, beaming, sleying, threading, winding… and only then is the yarn ready for weaving, on traditional Dobcross shuttle looms for the throws and modern Dornier rapier looms for the smaller items.
That is followed by a trip to the finishers where the real beauty of this superb lustrous wool comes to the fore as the oily raw wool is transformed through steaming, blowing and purling of fringes into the delectably soft fabric you have before you.
The making of cloth is a magical process, whether woven by hand or by machine, and the people involved are all highly skilled craftsmen and women in their own right.
The Howgill Range is processed to organic standards at mills in Yorkshire, Cumbria and the Scottish Borders.
It was launched by Laura’s Loom in 2008 with a limited edition of 70 throws woven in one design – a sophisticated herringbone twill with a subtle vertical stripe.
Known as the Howgill Classic, this elegant throw is now produced annually in quantities of just 100, available in four rich colours inspired by the Yorkshire Dales landscape – pure undyed natural cream; rich warm madder, the colour of bracken in winter; soft gentle moss green reflecting the fellsides in winter; and deep, almost black, carbon inspired by the stonewalls which criss-cross this beautiful land.
In 2009 a new design– the Dentdale – was introduced with just a dozen large throws and a range of new products, including the softest baby and cot blankets with handsewn satin borders, stylish wraps for special occasions or simply for cuddles and big luscious scarves to keep out winter chills.
Woven in an exquisite herringbone cross-check, each beautiful item is available in the same buttery soft, featherlight, pure, undyed Bluefaced Leicester wool which has rapidly become the hallmark of The Howgill Range.
The Howgill Range is supported by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund managed by the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust.
Buy online at Laura’s Loom
This is a sponsored article and the views contained in it are those of Laura’s Loom and not necessarily those of Daisy Green. However, we pride ourselves on only running articles with ethical content.
