From Recycled Textiles to Handwoven Mexican Blankets
A shirt, a bedsheet, a piece of fabric with a past—sometimes, the next chapter is a blanket.
At The Baja Trader, our blankets are handwoven in Tlaxcala, Mexico, from 100% recycled textiles. Here’s how those materials get a fresh start.
Old Fabric, New Yarn
The process begins with existing textiles, including clothing and linens. These materials are sorted and mechanically broken down into loose fibers.
Photo: Vilarrasa. Textile scraps shown as an example of recycling materials.
Those recovered fibers are cleaned, blended, and spun into new yarn. What started as fabric becomes the material for something entirely new. This is the basic journey behind mechanically recycled yarn.
Our blankets have a blend of 50% acrylic, 40% polyester, and 10% cotton—all from recycled materials.
Woven by Hand in Tlaxcala
Once the yarn is ready, the weaving begins.
Photo: Caminito. An example from its documented Mexican blanket-weaving process.
A loom holds the lengthwise threads under tension while the weaver passes yarn across them, building the fabric row by row. The colors and the way the threads cross bring the blanket’s pattern to life.
We choose handwoven blankets, putting this stage of their creation in the hands of the artisans who make them.
Photo: Caminito. Blanket weaving shown for illustration.
A New Life, Ready to Come Along
That finished blanket has come a long way from the textiles it started as. Now it’s ready for a picnic, a beach afternoon, a road trip, or that spot on the couch everyone fights over.
That’s what we love about these blankets: existing materials become something you can bring into your everyday life, through the work of weavers in Tlaxcala.
Where you take yours next is up to you.
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