Blankets weave way back into our affections

In their heyday, every good bed sported one and children, including loveable Peanuts character Linus, gripped one for comfort. It even spawned phrases including "don't be a wet blanket" and "wrong side of the blanket".

In the 1950s, more than 2,000 people worked in the blanket capital of the world – Dewsbury – weaving them as fast as they could.

"The decline really began when duvets became popular," says Tom Hainsworth, whose eponymous company now manufactures blankets alongside military uniforms and snooker cloth for top class casinos. But the real McCoy, as opposed to "fleeces" that have barely seen a sheep's back, is creeping back into interior fashion. Not only do blankets have nostalgic charm, they are eco-friendly and immensely practical.

The team at Hainsworth is capitalising on this 21st century interest with fresh, contemporary colours and new packaging with an old Atkinson Hainsworth label that boasts a proud Yorkshire heritage.

John Atkinson blankets, started in the late 1600s in Sowerby Bridge, was taken over by Dewsbury's Wormald and Walker and in 1983 became part of Leeds-based Hainsworth, itself founded

in 1743.

Until now the focus has been on serving John Atkinson's impressive client list that includes everyone from Middle Eastern princesses and billionaire yacht owners to Harrods, with blankets ranging from 60 for a simple single size to 3,000 for an extra large cashmere version.

The company also supplies John Lewis, Woods of Harrogate and the Spanish department store Cortes Ingles, because in hot countries, sleeping under a sheet and a blanket is still common.

Further afield, Canada is an important market for the Yorkshire firm, which manufactures Hudson Bay Point Blankets.

"That connection goes right back to the 17th century when we used to trade our blankets for their fur. The famous Hudson Bay blankets are the Canadians' national product but they are still made here in Yorkshire," says Tom Hainsworth.

"Another historical fact is that during the Boer War when Lesotho in South Africa became an English protectorate, Queen Victoria gave them a John Atkinson blanket. The tribal leader took off his skins and replaced them with the blanket and apparently that was the start of them using blankets instead of skins."

Back in the present, and Hainsworth is appealing to the young fashion tribe and is also trading online.

"We want to refresh the image and we think there is a lot of potential for them to be used not just as bedding, but as decorative throws," says Tom, whose Stanningley-based mill buys the wool, spins it, dyes it and weaves it into the finished item.

To drive the message home that blankets have substance as well as style Hainsworth has commissioned research from Leeds University that is expected to show sleeping under pure new wool, be it common or garden, merino or cashmere, is good for you.

"There is nothing like it," says Tom.

"Wool has so many advantages. It's a natural, sustainable fabric that breathes and regulates your body temperature better than anything else.

"We're hoping to promote that to a generation that has never had a blanket before."

Details: www.atkinson blankets.co.uk