Colours, designs, textures, weights – choosing your own Seljak Brand blanket can feel like an overwhelming task! So here we take a closer look at the different ranges, breaking down the functional and aesthetic characteristics of each blanket we offer. If you are considering investing in a Seljak blanket, the following features will assist you in evaluating which range is best aligned with your needs and help you to pick the perfect blanket:
- Blanket ranges
- Type of waste
- Warmth, texture and durability
- Shape and size
- Fringe vs Whipstitch
- Where it's made
Blanket Ranges
Picnic blankets
The Moontide and Sunbeam blanket enjoying a waterfall
The Picnic range, as the name suggests, are robust hardy blankets created specifically with outdoor use in mind and perfect for picnicking. Crafted from 'deadstock' upholstery yarns, each design is a special limited edition one-off that can’t be replicated. Inspired by natural phenomena of the land and sea, the Moontide blanket and the Sunbeam blanket are currently available. The Picnic blankets are made locally at a mill in Geelong.
Winter blankets
The Fig blanket is super fun and rich in colour
The Winter range blankets are our classic blankets, launched in 2016. They are thick, durable and multi-purpose perfect for adventuring, homemaking and everything in between. Available in a range of colours which pay homage to Australian landscapes and seasons, check out the different shades; Indigo, Pinot, Fig and Ink each with optional Whipstitch or Fringe finish.
Design blankets
The Dune blanket is one of our best-sellers to date
The Design range are soft, lightweight blankets which are best suited for interior use. Perfect as a throw on the couch or in your bedroom, each Design blanket has a unique artwork and story exploring the fragility and power of the natural world.
In the design range, Dune reflects the beauty of the Central Desert at dusk, Lune is inspired by the tides of the Great Barrier Reef and Pyramid is a response to the volcanic landscape and rising temperatures on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Passage is inspired by the architecture of waves and explores the swiftness of action required to respond to rising sea levels. Gather is our first blanket collaboration with dear friend and Quandamooka artist Elisa Jane Carmichael.
Summer blankets
The Cockatoo blanket in a vibrant lemon yellow
The Summer range features the vibrant Dugong and Cockatoo designs which express our collective concern for endangered animals in Australia, and are a joyful response to their spirit and a call to care. The Dugong blankets are available in Lime and Mango colourways, and the Cockatoo blankets in Black and Lemon, and are the perfect companions for cool breezes and summertime adventures.
The jacquard weave used for the Design and Summer blankets creates a unique dual design with inverted colours on either side, with a fringe finish.
Knitted blankets
The deep, ribbed texture of the merino wool Riverbed blanket makes it our most luxurious!
The Knitted range are 100% merino wool blankets made at a new knitting studio in Wurundjeri Country aka the Yarra Valley. These are luxurious, soft and slinky blankets for sleeping and living spaces, with rich saturated colours. The Riverbed blanket is large and sophisticated in style, while we've also created a Dancing Daisies play blanket for the little ones. Their ribbed structure make the knitted blankets both super warm and smooth on the skin. Because these blankets are made of natural materials, they can be composted at the end of the life.
Type of Waste
Woven from upholstery yarn, the Picnic blankets are composed of 96% wool and 4% nylon. These blankets utlilise 'deadstock' yarn which mills are often left with, unused due to over-ordering or last minute customer changes to quantities or design.
Deadstock yarn from the Geelong mill
The Winter range is crafted from 100% recycled pre-consumer textile waste (55% recycled wool, 30% recycled polyester, 15% recycled other fibres) collected from a group of 16 mills around Europe. The factory floor offcuts are collected and sent to the Lithuanian weaving mill for processing, where offcuts are shredded, combed out and spun into a new yarn and ready for weaving into blankets. Creating a new product from pre-existing materials, these blankets divert approximately 1.1kg of waste from landfill.
Shredded offcuts at the Lithuanian mill
Incorporating repurposed yarn from Italy, The Design range extends the lifespan of post-consumer textiles such as woollen jumpers. The Dune blanket has a unique luxurious composition of 75% recycled lambswool and 25% polyamide and the Pyramid, Passage, Lune and Gather blankets are both composed of 70% recycled wool, 25% polyamide and 5% other fibres. Read more on how old woollen jumpers are turned into new yarn.
Reclaimed textile waste at the Italian mill ready for recycling into new yarn
Our Summer range blankets are made with 70% recycled cotton, 20% polyester and 10% recycled mixed fibres. The recycled cotton and mixed fibres come from all kinds of textiles leftover from the production process, like yarn and fabric offcuts. Polyester is used to bind the short offcuts into longer fibres that are strong enough to be spun and woven into new blankets.
Testing the compostability of a Dancing Daisies sample at Loop Growers in Brisbane
The Knitted blankets are our first and only blankets to made of non-recycled, all natural materials, that is 100% merino wool. This is so that we reduce reliance on the poly component that bind recycled fibres and so we can explore other options for circularity – using all-natural mono fibres being a way a product can be cycled through the organic system rather than the mechanical one at end of life.
Warmth, texture and durability
The sturdy Picnic blankets are the most durable blankets we offer, built to last due to the nature of their textile composition, derived from repurposed hard-wearing upholstery yarns. Made up of wool and nylon, they have a coarser, fibrous texture. These blankets are the warmest and most hardwearing. If you are planning on taking your blanket camping or picnicking, and warmth is your priority, then the Picnic blanket is your match.
Closeup details of the Picnic range Moontide blanket
Closeup details of the Winter range blanket in Fig
The Design range are our softest and lightest blankets, due to the difference in material composition. Splendid for cosy everyday use at home or for a little extra warmth when you're on the go. These blankets are remarkably warm for how lightweight they are.
Closeup details of the Pyramid blanket from the Design range
The Summer blankets are one of the lightest weight blankets that we offer, a close second behind the Design range at 700g. Made from recycled cotton the Summer blankets offer a soft, breathable and lightweight protective layer that isn’t sticky, heavy or hot in warm weather.
Being 100% merino wool the Knitted blankets are smooth, soft and slinky. Having that stretchy nature, they kind of 'spring back', making them feel like a tight warm hug when wrapped around the body. They are best suited in indoors so those knitted loops don't catch on twigs and leaves! Being all-natural, they are beautifully breathable as well as insulating.
Spreading the generously sized Riverbed blanket out for a warm addition to the bed
Sizing
The Picnic blankets are Seljak Brand’s largest and therefore also the heaviest blankets we offer. The Moontide blanket measures 180cm x 150cm, weighing approximately 950g, while the Sunbeam blanket are 200cm x 150cm weighing 1.2kg. These blankets are great for cold climates and are sure to keep you warm when the temperature dips. Carl purchased a Moontide blanket and says,
“It is soft and warm. Just like the blankets you used to have as a kid when you wanted to feel safe”.
The Picnic range Moontide blanket
The Winter range Fringe finish blankets measure 205cm x 160cm while the Whipstitch finish is 190cm x 160cm, weighing 1.1kg. They sit nicely atop a double bed but aren't a full size bed blanket. Julia purchased an Indigo blanket from the Winter range and says,
"I love this blanket! Working from home during COVID-19 in winter it has been a daily accessory. It's beautifully made. I love the colour and the occasional little specks of other colour give it a one-of-a-kind feel. It's an investment and worth it.”
Winter range blankets comfortably accomodate two or three people
The Design range blankets are 180cm x 130cm and at 600g, the lightest that Seljak Brand offers. This makes them highly portable and fantastic for travelling. Folded and neatly tucked into your luggage they’re barely there, which means you can have your favourite blanket with you wherever you go! They’re also useful all year round, with a great warmth-to-weight ratio, they don’t rely on heaviness for cosiness. Hannah purchased the Lune blanket and says;
“Such a beautiful blanket. I sleep with it every night and am often seen in work meetings with it draped around my shoulders – the envy of all who video call!”
The Lune and Dune blankets from the Design range
The Summer blankets, like the Design blankets measure 180cm x 130cm and are perfect for cool summer breezes or taking adventuring, from the beach to the bedroom. As the only cotton blankets we offer, the Summer range are our coolest, most breathable blankets.
The Dancing Daisies blanket is suitable for a kids bed and playroom
The Knitted blankets feature both the biggest and smallest blankets we have. The Riverbed blanket is luxurious in size as well as texture, at 160cm x 130cm and weighs 1.5kg. The Dancing Daisies is designed for kids and is 80cm x 110cm and is 530g in weight.
Fringe vs. whipstitch
The fringe finish offered in the Winter, Design and Summer blankets is a decorative flourish, adding length and detail to your blanket, while the whipstitch is a sturdy subtle option. Simply, the fringe looks luxurious if you’re planning on using your blanket on the couch or bed, and if outdoors, the whipstitch ensures no leaves get tangled in the blankets’ edges.
Closeup of the Fig fringe and whipstitch blankets
Where it’s made
Each blanket range is made at a mill that uses different types of waste to divert it from landfill (check out our impact snapshot), except for our newly introduced knitted blankets of 100% merino wool, which are compostable.
Production offcuts in Lithuania
The Winter range, Design range and Summer range are all woven at a nearly century old heritage mill in Lithuania. The mill collects production offcuts from the factory floors of 16 mills around Europe and pools them together for processing. Their specialty Jacquard looms mean we can weave detailed artwork into blankets. Check out the mill in Lithuania for how most of our blankets are made.
Post-consumer waste in Italy
Some of the yarn that makes up the Design blankets is produced in Italy, using post-consumer waste like old woollen jumpers. The woollen garments are sorted into like- colours and by material type, and fibre quality, and the waste is then ragged and shredded and spun into a new yarn with a bit of polyamide for strength. Read more about Italy's incredible process of utilising post-consumer waste.
Deadstock yarn in Geelong
The Picnic range is made in Australia at a heritage mill in Geelong, Victoria, which is traditionally an upholstery weaving mill. It's from this stockpile of deadstock or left-over yarn, that's kept in the hopes of being used before getting dust-covered and moth-eaten, that Picnic blankets are woven. Check out the mill in Geelong to see the process of weaving with deadstock yarn.
100% merino wool in the Yarra Valley
As we explore circular systems more deeply, we wanted to experiment with biological as well as mechanical loops, where composting instead of remanufacture is an end of life option for blankets. Natural fibres reduce harm to the environment and mono fibres are easier to recycle or decompose. Merino wool is also one of the highest performance fibres in the world! Read about why we're using new wool to learn more.
Each Seljak Brand blanket has wonderful qualities, so no matter which Seljak Brand blanket you choose, there are countless cosy moments to be had for many years to come. Happy snuggling!
Textile waste being spun into new yarn at the Lithuanian mill