Hand-embroidered in Kashmir with traditional designs and contemporary palettes, Welland & Wye’s crewel fabric is the antithesis of mass-production. Using quality linen and cotton grounds with wool surface embroidery, their crewel is an heirloom fabric for curtains and blinds, light upholstery, bed hangings and special soft furnishings.
Production of Welland & Wye's fabric is skilled and labour intensive. Using a crochet-style hook called an aari, artisans use a running- or chain-stitch to create motifs, usually with intricate shading to enhance the richness of the palette. With more than 100,000 stitches in the average metre of fabric, and each metre taking around a week to embroider, making the fabric is a slow process in a world of fast manufacture.
Welland & Wye's designs are historical, inspired by the British country house of the 17th and 18th centuries, where Jacobean embroidery, or crewel, could be found on cushions, wall-hangings, curtains, firescreens and bed-hangings. The typical tree of life pattern, incorporating naive animals, native flora and trailing foliage forms the basis of the present-day designs. The studio still use the same natural colours; dusky pinks, earthy teracottas, natural greens and delicate blues, with simple background cloths of linen or cotton in antique cream or tea-stain.
Welland & Wye was founded by sisters Eleanor and Frances, who determined to continue bringing these beautiful embroidered fabrics to Europe and the USA. All fabric is imported from Kashmir, a beautiful but troubled region on the disputed border between India and Pakistan, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Eleanor and Frances work with a small number of families who have been making crewel fabric for generations. They continue to support new embroiderers to keep the art alive.
"We are a small, family business and because of the handmade nature of our product, you will never find us on the High Street. We aim to provide an efficient and personalised service to trade customers and retail customers alike.
Welland & Wye is inspired by English Country House style. You will find many original and antique crewel bedhangings or tapestries in National Trust properties or in private collections around the world, and our crewel is a direct descendant. However, our fabric also provides texture and weight to any scheme –not just period properties.
Welland & Wye might best be described as ‘contemporary country’.
We aim to keep all our fabric in stock in our Herefordshire warehouse, and despatch within 5 working days. Crewel is suitable for all soft furnishings including curtains, blinds, light upholstery, bedspreads, headboards, four-poster bed hangings and statement cushions."
"Welland & Wye has recently collaborated with the Boys Who Sew on a project at a special wedding venue, 12th century Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire. The Castle is the oldest building in the country to be inhabited by the family who built it (the Berkeleys). The client chose Kanishka to create curtains for their full height stone mullion casement windows in the Great State bedroom in the private quarters of the castle. Kanishka’s tea-stained cotton ground toned perfectly with the ancient stone walls, and the muted palette of reds, greens and blues delicately highlighted the colours of the huge tapestry covering the East wall. The client also requested bedspread, bedhangings and headboard for their ornately carved Elizabethan bed, which was made entirely from one tree from the grounds of the castle and rumoured to have been slept in by Queen Elizabeth 1.
For orders of fabric over 30m we can provide a bespoke service, using your choice of wool colour with our existing designs. However, our fabric is not designed by computer or stitched by machines, so it is not a quick option!"
