The Bristol Cloth Project.
The Bristol Cloth project is a community led initiative creating cloth from start to finish within a 10 mile radius and worked as a pilot to reignite British textile production. This gathered together a collective of individuals involved in local regenerative design such as the Bristol Textile Quarter, SW England Fibershed, Botanical inks, Dash + Miller Ltd and The Bristol Weaving Mill Ltd, and local to Bristol Makers.
oB came in to close the loop of the project and created garments from this precious cloth to be bid upon as part of the crowd funding of the project.
Through my involvement I had the pleasure to meet with and discuss ideas with different members of the collective team, which included producer Babs Behan, a botanical and mineral artist and founder of Botanical Inks dye house. What made the project so exciting is not only did it bring to life the possibilities of local textile production co-created collaboration, it also used valuable traditional and low tech production techniques and celebrated the first industrial loom to open in Bristol in nearly 100 years! The Bristol Cloth was as local a cloth I could ever wished to work with. The project stands as testament to imbuing the collective within the weave of a cloth.
Tailored body piece cut from the first run of The Bristol Cloth, lined with a UK produced peace silk and hand stitched details
Carefully cutting the pocket pieces so the Bristol Cloth stripes match perfectly!
The project in detail…
The vision in cloth: a 100% wool fabric of classic heritage-inspired design, prioritising local, responsibly sourced biological materials and manufacturing processes from the South West of the UK.
To do this, every single step of the process in designing and bringing the cloth to life has been considered and really proves the level of skill, knowledge and craftsmanship behind textile production, which not only concerns creative sectors but also incorporates those who have a rich understanding of agriculture.
In Process: The Bristol Cloth is made from the wool of Bristol sheep that have been holistically farmed Fernhill Farm which is biologically washed, combed and spun into yarn. Some yarns were left natural and while a portion were naturally dyed using the native and organic British plant dye Madder Root by natural dyer Botanical Inks who prioritises using organic pigments and local natural fibres, without the use of toxic synthetic chemicals or heavy metals, as part of a non-toxic creative practice. This results in not just a beautiful and attractive finish but also products that are safe to work with, wear and dispose of at the end of their useful life cycle, as biological nutrients.
Following this, the yarns were threaded into the looms at the Bristol Weaving Mill (the first industrial loom to open in Bristol in nearly 100 years) and woven into the first 200 metres of cloth in a regionally-inspired woven design created by Wendy Kotenkothen, the winner of the community design competition.
The Result: Once complete, the cloth was then finished and pressed for blanket and tailoring quality. I stepped in at the last stage and cycled across Bristol to collect the fabric before returning to my workshop to cut and sew the cloth into garments for some of the project's initial backers, including a choice of a unisex jumpsuit and a zero-waste t-shirt both of which were bespoke and made-to-order.