SIIRT BLANKETS
Siirt blankets are flat weaves made of finest Mohair wool. Research indicates that the domestication of Angora goats and the use of their wool for weaving started thousands of years BC in Turkey and Iran, where the climate is ideal for these goats. The blankets' main characteristic is their long pile, which is combed into diamond shaped, almost three-dimensional patterns.
We believe the blankets are ideally used as wall art, as the chequered design is best seen from a certain distance. Their wooly appearance brings great warmth and cozyness into any room.
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Mohair is one of the oldest textile fibres in use. The characteristics of Angora goats developed in the Turkish Anatolian Plain, a region then known as Angora. The goat is also known as the Ankara goat or locally as Tiftik-Kecisi.
Hand-weaving blankets is an important tradition, still performed mainly by Kurdish men in the Siirt region of Eastern Turkey. Weaving one blanket takes roughly one day.
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After sheering, the hair gets sorted by colour, washed, carded, and spun. Following weaving, a special steel comb is used to raise the nap and comb the hair into intriguing, almost three-dimensional patterns. Most Siirt blankets feature a diagonal chequered design.
Today, the warp is made of cotton while Mohair (locally known as Tiftik) is mixed with sheep wool and used for the weft. Typically, older blankets have a higher percentage of Mohair.
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Most of our Mohair blankets have already been used. The oldest ones, likely around 70 years old, contain a higher percentage of Mohair. Some show clear signs of usage, while others were likely kept in storage,waiting to be given as a wedding present, and therefore appear like new. We sell only blankets in the seven natural colours: white, black, dark brown, brown, camel, beige, and grey.
IS IT ETHICAL TO USE MOHAIR?
Some fast fashion producers like ZARA banned Mohair from their stores after PETA published a report about goat abuse on large farms in South Africa.
Our Siirt blankets have been used for some years by Turkish families, and we acquire them through our partner, who collects and preserves old handicrafts as a hobby. Therefore, we are unable to trace back to the farm where the goat was shorn years ago. Considering the history of our product, we find it extremely unlikely that our Mohair comes from any large commercial farm. We see no problem in enjoying our blankets and like to highlight that domestication and shearing of goats is a tradition that most likely evolved around 10'000 years ago in Anatolia (Turkey) and Iran.
