Historic Pudsey mill's wool on display (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Historic Pudsey mill's wool on display

9:00am Tuesday 19th March 2013 in Business

Fabrics from a historic West Yorkshire textile mill are on show at the world’s largest showcase of wool this week as part of the Campaign for Wool headed by the Prince of Wales.

UK textile manufacturer Anne Kyyrö Quinn has designed a long bench for the Wool House exhibition at Somerset House in London using 15 metres of Melton fabric from Pudsey-based Hainsworth. Blankets from Hainsworth’s luxury Scarlet & Argent range are also featured at the event which runs until March 24.

Anne Kyyrö Quinn said: “We have often used Hainsworth’s woollen fabrics for our cushions and ottomans and are pleased to use and support British textile companies.”

Hainsworth, founded in 1783, is best known for manufacturing the famous Hainsworth Guard scarlet cloth which is worn by the Queen’s Guards outside Buckingham Palace. Hainsworth, which holds a Royal Warrant, has been supplying cloth to the UK armed forces since the Duke of Wellington faced Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

The event will also feature wool processed by Howarth Scouring in Bradford,. including from the Shetland Isles and Norway.

Wool House features seven rooms created by leading designers to show how the designers use wool extensively in their work. There are also fashion displays, celebrating the importance of the fibre in today’s fashion industry.

Bridgette Kelly, the Campaign for Wool’s project director said, “It is the most expansive venture the Campaign has seen to date as it looks at all the key uses of wool under one roof and shows the amazing versatility of the fibre and its potential to be both stunningly beautiful in use and yet incredibly practical too."

One of the key backers of the Campaign for Wool is the Bradford-based British Wool Marketing Board.