Traditional Weaving and Blankets

The hand-weaving of wool is one of the oldest and most widespread of Portugal’s textile arts. On wooden looms, spinners and weavers transformed the fleece of the flocks for centuries into blankets, coverlets and cloth for clothing, adjusting production to the available material and to the orders received. On a single loom it was common to weave woollen blankets in one season and linen or cotton cloths in another. Closely tied to stock-raising and to transhumance and pastoralism, this activity fixed in each region its own repertoire of stitches, patterns and colours.

Blankets, coverlets and regions

In the Alentejo, the mantas of Reguengos de Monsaraz are the best-known example. Woven in the merino wool abundant in the region since the Middle Ages, they stand out for their vivid stripes and geometric motifs, whose matrix points back to roots of Islamic inspiration, in contrast with the more figurative aesthetic of other traditions. The Fábrica Alentejana de Lanifícios, in operation since 1915, kept the hand looms in use and helped to project the Alentejan blanket far beyond its territory.

In the Serra da Estrela and the municipality of Guarda lies another hub. From here come the burel of the Serra da Estrela, the fulled cloth of the shepherds’ capes, and the cobertor de papa, a shaggy piece of churra wool spun and woven on entirely manual looms and then felted with water and earth — the “papa” that gives it its name. Originating in parishes such as Maçainhas, Meios and Trinta, the cobertor de papa was the object of a revitalisation effort from 2008, with the School of Arts and Crafts of Maçainhas and, in 2015, the founding of an association to safeguard its authenticity.

In the Minho, in mountain villages such as Castro Laboreiro, in the municipality of Melgaço and within the Peneda-Gerês National Park, a domestic weaving of churra wool was kept alive. Through the long winters, the wool that clothes and protects those who live in these high lands continues to be spun and woven on old looms, where isolation helped to preserve costumes and communal knowledge.

The technique and the loom

The cycle always begins with the shearing of the flock. The wool is washed, carded and spun — ideally by the same person, so that the thread keeps a constant thickness and texture — before being warped on the loom. The weaving itself combines the warp (the long, taut threads) with the weft (the thread the weaver passes from one side to the other), and it is in the alternation of the threads that stripes, checks and patterns are built up.

In many blankets and coverlets, the cloth comes off the loom still open and is then felted: by mechanical fulling, in the case of burel, or by processes using water and beating, in the case of the cobertor de papa. Felting shrinks and thickens the fibres, closing the weave and giving it weight, warmth and durability. This technical mastery brings weaving close to other national textile arts, such as the tapetes de Arraiolos, even though these rest on embroidery rather than on the loom.

Safeguarding and present-day relevance

With the spread of industrialised clothing, the improvement of communication routes and the rural exodus, many looms were left abandoned in the villages and the practice lost practitioners over the course of the twentieth century. Traditional weaving survives today above all through workshops, wool mills and associations that keep the know-how alive and train new artisans. Recognised as part of the intangible cultural heritage of Portugal, the art of blankets and wool weaving combines pastoral memory, regional identity and a use-value that is once again sought for its authenticity and durability.