Una lambswool blanket

This blanket is woven in what is known as a Panama weave, where several parallel threads are plain woven in the warp and weft to create a sort of checkerboard pattern. Here, there are three adjacent threads. The special feature: Three color gradations are used in each case. The warp consists of three threads in shades of gray, the weft of three different colored threads or, in the case of the yellow-gray blanket, three shades of yellow. Seen from a distance, the warp and weft appear monochromatic; only up close do the gradations become visible. The symmetrical weave and the trilogy of colors create a lively, yet uniform interplay of colors. The blanket is warped on the short sides with matching colored wool yarn.

One of the aspects that make the Norwegian textile company Røros Tweed special is the high degree of its vertical range of manufacture. Their in-house manufacturing includes even the design process while developing the designs in cooperation with well-known local and international designers. And it’s a matter of honouring local traditions and skills for Røros Tweed that all production processes — from shearing to weaving — are based in Norway. But there is more to it.

The initial motivation behind starting something new in the Norwegian mining town of Røros was a philanthropical one. The industrialist Peder Hiort (1715–1789) bequeathed his fortune to a foundation under the condition that the institute should use the money to purchase wool so that the needy of Røros could use it for their woven piecework, which the foundation would buy up in turn.
Røros Tweed still lives up to this tradition of responsible trading, tracing back to the Hiort Foundation. Moreover, they have their production honed in on technical advancements and ecologically conscious procedures – the design and manufacturing processes factor in saving resources, reducing costs and minimising waste. Production materials qualify by their reusability, plus, the production cycle constantly reintegrates any remnants.

Røros Tweed exclusively resources their wool from sheep farms in the area. The climate in the mountains is extremely harsh, but there is an advantage to this: The farmers can dispense with pest control since the region is mostly insect-free and, therefore, with chemical treatments of the wool.