Yes, be sure to use a gentle soap when washing your wool if you need to get the crud off it. You want to preserve the natural lanolin. For a new blanket I skip the soap, per se, and just want to full it — shrink it— i used a handful of borax just to soften the water and run it through on the gentle cycle.
Most of the time I just air my blankets out and give em a good shake. ( Now hear this! Air all bedding, sweepers man your brooms).
Keep your investment folded neatly and stowed in a secured container in the off season. Moths usually attack where the wool is dirty, so it’s worth the effort to clean. I find that brushing the dried mud and what have you works. A soft baby’s hair brush is effective. Experiment to see what works without stressing the fibers. In my experience the Whitney’s seem to be a slightly looser weave than the Hudson’s so be more gentle, but if you full your blankets they all get more resilient.
The Virgin aspect can’t be emphasized too much. Not just 100% wool, 100%virgin wool. It’s not snobbery; it really does make a difference.
Bob in the Woods is one of those lucky fellas to have a genuine Wilde hand woven match coat. They are as rare as hen’s teeth now and well worth the expense if you can find one. Glad to hear there are other cottage industries weaving quality blankets but they seem to be allergic to advertising probably because they can’t make them fast enough to meet the demand. It certainly is time consuming to weave a blanket.
I second the recommendation regarding Northwest Traders. Major distributors of the Whitney’s. Something else to consider, research your time period since you’re going through all the trouble and expense to wear a match coat, be sure it matches your time frame. Some of the famous patterns of the Hudson’s, for example are later than the colonial period. i prefer subdued grays and browns but, from the research I have found, you’d be surprised what bright colors the pioneers used. Also, most colonial period blankets were sewn from two pieces—right down the middle— because the looms of the period were not wide enough to make, say, a 4pt blanket.
Well, that’s probably way more than most would ever want to know about blankets and it’s certainly about all I know of the subject. I’m no subject matter expert— just what I learned from others and my own experience .
Regard,
Johnny
