The craft and range of Begg blankets

Textiles is a very complimentary area to the tailoring we cover on PS, given the time readers spend poring over swatches and discussing weaves. But, the most readily consumable version of this is blankets, which we haven’t covered much.

Given they’re also great gifts - and it’s that time of year - I thought it would be good to do a detailed piece on one my favourite ranges, at Begg.

We’ve covered Begg x Co many times over the years of course, going back to when I visited the mill in Ayr a decade ago, for the book The Finest Menswear in the World. But that was focused on scarves, and more recent coverage has been more about the expansion into knitwear.

Their homeware can run a little under the radar, which it shouldn’t because Begg blankets have perhaps the greatest combination of range, value and design of any luxury brand.

The store in the Burlington Arcade is a good place to appreciate the technical differences between them - in weight, in openness and feel. Knitwear is easier to appreciate online, at least with menswear, as the fits and designs don’t vary too much. Textiles can be harder.

So…the standard type (or ‘quality’) as with the scarves is the Arran. This is pure cashmere and has that same ripple surface, created by combing with dried teasel plants.

It’s fairly light for a blanket though (you could also wear it as a stole) and Begg just introduced a heavier version, the Kintail. This is three layers of the same cashmere, which is why it’s rather more expensive (£1750 as opposed to £1150).

Price tends to reflect material (cashmere or lambswool), size and weight - basically how expensive the material is and how much of it there is. Online it’s always worth checking the size, as this can vary quite a bit.

Marija, above, walked me through the types hanging on the wall of the store. As with the Begg scarves, names tend to reflect the quality, then the design. So the first image is the the Arran Pyramid, the second is the Kintail Cubist.

My favourite quality, however, was the next one we looked at: Mossband. This is woven but feels like something knitted - the technique was created to give that effect. It gives it a slightly rustic feel (which they’ve leant into with the long fringes) but also makes it more three dimensional, like you can get in amongst the material.

I’ve tried to get across in the pictures below how nice it feels in the hand. The first picture is of the Harmony design, just because it shows the the weave better. But the second, plain colour is more the kind of thing I can imagine appealing to a PS reader.

My other favourite is the Volatzu. This is a bit cheaper as it’s a a lambswool/cashmere mix and a more straightforward technique. (Some designs are also on sale).

The reason I like this is that the lambswool doesn’t make it feel that much less luxurious, just more solid. It’s the kind of blanket that’s more appropriate in my household, where there’s a decent chance at some point a child will spill or wipe something on it. Anything can be dry cleaned of course, but this could put up with a little more dabbing, soaking and rubbing.

It also comes in my favourite design, Sanna Bay, shown below. This was a collaboration with the artist Hayley McCrirrick, and represents the surrounding Scottish landscape. It’s a lovely combination, and not easy to weave given those long, snaking lines.

A nice touch, I think, is that the blanket stitch on the edge of these designs is done in a matching yarn - changing every time the main colour changes. Normally an edge stitch is done in just one colour.

Two more qualities to mention, largely for completeness. The Chalet blanket is a huge cable knit, loose and open - you can see that in the image above. I can see where the inspiration came from: it would be exactly the thing to wrap yourself in, or at least have around your shoulders, up in the mountains.

And there’s the Furrow, which is a huge ribbed knit. Given this involves the most cashmere, it’s the most expensive at £2750. Although as sometimes goes without saying on PS, these are all good value for what they are, and would be rather more at a bigger brand.

Interestingly, Begg also do bespoke blankets at no extra cost. You can pick from around a dozen colours that are kept in stock in the mill (below), and choose the size and colour of the edge stitch. It takes about six weeks.

If anyone can, I’d really recommend going into the Burlington Store and seeing the blankets in person. They’re such tactile things, and I really think PS readers are the type of people that will appreciate all the differences. My descriptions can’t quite capture everything, and it’s the only place they’re all alongside each other.

For those that are interested in the knits shown, I’m wearing my Aspen shawl cardigan, Marija is wearing a Joy Slouch crewneck (old season colour) and store manage Jolyon (pictured higher up) is wearing a Sloane V-neck.

The rest of the store team (who I thought all wore them in interesting, different styles) are in, left to right: