Rio Grande Wool Blanket — III

Description

The red one. Madder gives a brick red rather than a bright one, and it sits under three cream bands at each end that are woven in, not printed, so the reverse reads the same as the face. The Belen weavers take this one out to full double-bed width. Instead of tape or a hem, the edges are whipstitched by hand in the same wool yarn, a slower finish that adds nothing to the thickness at the border. 66 by 88 inches, 4 pounds 12 ounces. It covers a double bed with an overhang on both sides. Wash it on its own the first time, because madder releases a little colour early. Cold water, dry flat, keep it in shade.

• Loomed wool, madder-dyed ground
• 66 by 88 inches, 4 lb 12 oz
• Hand-whipstitched wool edge; brick red with three woven cream bands at each end
• Woven at a small mill in Belen, New Mexico; stitched and packed in Albuquerque