The Rebirth of the Traditional Mexican Blanket

TL;DR In this spotlight, we go behind the process and discover how artisans in Central Mexico transform upcycled clothing remnants into Caminito's vibrant blankets. This post breaks down step-by-step of how discarded fibers get made into upcycled yarn and how that yarn gets woven into traditional Mexican blankets. Plus, learn about the seemingly endless uses for these sustainably-crafted blankets.

Right now in Central Mexico the fragile artform of traditional Mexican blanket weaving is being revived. Once at risk of being lost to mass-produced machine-made blankets, the handwoven blanket is making a resurgence in a big way. Also right now someone is sitting in a park or curled up on their couch wrapped in this comeback kid that’s the catalyst for all this change — one of Caminito’s brightly colored, heavyweight, but still so snuggly soft, handwoven blankets.

Caminito was founded by the mother-daughter team of Elizabeth and Liz Clark. Elizabeth, the mom, grew up in Baja, Mexico and would take her daughter Liz on trips to Mexico to experience her cultural heritage. In Mexico, it’s very common for family members to work together and Elizabeth and Liz’s partnership running Caminito is no exception. Now living in California Liz and Elizabeth travel to Mexico to work with artisans in the weaving community of Tlaxcala where Caminito’s blankets are made. 

Caminito’s beautiful and functional traditional Mexican blankets use vibrant heritage designs to celebrate the cultural heritage of Mexico, paired with modern colorways and motifs inspired by California style. 

Caminito also uses recycled yarn, derived from remnant textiles, to create each blanket. 

Caminito is committed to providing sustainable economic opportunities for its artisans by paying fair wages and ensuring safe working environments. Caminito is helping to preserve the Mexican heritage art weaving by designing new modern motifs that appeal to a younger audience that can be created with this traditional craft.

“We have always been making the same designs here”, one of Caminito’s artisans emphasized, “and now that we’re making these designs, we see them differently and we find them very beautiful.”

Behind the Process

The yarn used in Caminito’s blankets is all made from upcycled remnants from the garment industry.

The process begins by taking the raw recycled fibers and beginning to thinning out the larger clumps of fiber into one consistency. 

The fibers are then brushed into thin layers of fiber and stacked. 

Once the layers have reached the desired thickness, the fiber is split into pencil roving, which is a long and narrow bundle of fiber.

The pencil roving is spun into two-play yarn on bobbins, which are spindles or cylinders on which yarn or thread is wound.

The yarn on the bobbins is then transferred to larger cones before being sent off for weaving.

The cones then arrive to Caminito’s community of artisan weavers the colorful yarns will be woven into blankets.

The first step is to prepare the warp for the looms by transferring the yarn from the larger cones that they come on to canillas, or smaller spools. 

Each blanket is then woven using wooden floor looms. For the larger colored panels of the blankets, the yarn passes through a shuttle. For the more detailed sections of the blanket, the yarn must pass through the loom by hand.

The result of this detailed process? Earth-friendly, California style-inspired blankets rooted in Mexican heritage.