How a blanket was made

Weaving and its related trades are known to have been carried out as a cottage industry in the West Oxfordshire area for many hundreds of years, since before the Norman invasion in 1066. Before blanket making was industrialised and taken into factories, wool had to pass through lots of different workers hands before it was turned into finished cloth or blankets. After industrialisation these processes changed radically, and they changed again during the 'Second Industrial Revolution' of the 1960s. Choose a period to find out how blankets were made at different times.

Click on a link to find out more:
Making a blanket - 18th century - how a blanket was made before industrialisation.

Making a blanket - 19th century - the classic process of making a Witney blanket, from the 1860s to the 1980s.

Making a blanket - 20th century - the production processes in use at the end of the industry in 2002.

Fiberweaving - a description of the Fiberweaving process of the 1960s and the effects it had on the Witney blanket industry.