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Willow Inspiration – soft, flexible, and surprisingly sturdy


Four Pendleton cotton bed blankets hang on hooks against a white wall.

It’s been a long, late winter, and we are ready for Spring with cotton, silk, and patterns that remind us of growth and harmony.

Willow Inspiration

Weaving baskets from willow has long been associated with tribes of the American Southwest. Basketry among Native American’s varies by region because of the materials available. In the Northeast, weavers work with sweet grass or ash splints. In the Southeast, baskets are made with bundled pine needles or rivercane. Northwestern tribes use the abundant cedar bark, spruce roots, and grasses of the region. Tribes of the Southwest use sumac or willow wood.

This is a living art form, very much in practice. This video portrays a contemporary basket maker, Margaret Acosta. In the museum shots, watch for a vintage Pendleton blanket on the wall!

 

Willow Basket Blankets

Our Willow Basket cotton blankets, inspired by the intricate beauty of handcrafted baskets, are woven  for us in Germany from 100% certified organic cotton. Why Germany? Well, we are masters weavers of wool. For cotton blankets, we turned to the experts in Germany to find the quality we wanted.

Ultrasoft, lightweight and woven of the finest yarns, our cotton blankets are made with the same quality and care as our world-class wool. This exclusive pattern is woven in soft hues to match any room. Machine-washable organic cotton is certified socially and environmentally responsible by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). See them here: Willow Basket Blanket

Pendleton cotton bed blanket

If you love the Willow Basket pattern, you can also check out Mojave Twill and Yuma Star, two more beautiful organic cotton blanket patterns.

Silk gets Willowy

The lacy woven patterns of willow baskets also inspired a silk fabric for our Women’s line this spring – Willow Creek.

 

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