eclectic design inspiration

Thursday, January 17, 2013

A Favorite Thing: Moroccan Wedding Blankets

You know how we all have those lists in our heads of things we would LOVE to have or do, but for whatever reason probably never will? For me that includes spending a Christmas in the Swiss Alps, owning a dalmation, being a nanny for a Hollywood celebrity (my aunt tried to convince me this could be a real possibility), having a wedding รก la Rachel Getting Married, actually loving wine and, finally, having a Moroccan wedding blanket across my bed.

Moroccan wedding blankets are something I've been loving for a while now, and every time I see one pop up in a photo of a beautiful serene bedroom I fall into a daydream about owning one myself (even though I don't think my obsession with vintage chenille bedspreads will ever die). It spells adventure in faraway lands and centuries-old stories of romance... plus they're really, really pretty.

Here's a little schooling for ya... According to Apartment Therapy, "The creamy, sequined blankets, or handira, are a window onto traditional Berber culture. Known as Moroccan wedding blankets, handira are woven out of sheep's wool, cotton and linen by Berber women in the Middle Atlas mountains of Northern Morocco. [...] Berber wedding blankets are woven in anticipation of, you guessed it, a wedding, by the bride's female relatives. It can take many hours — even weeks — of work to attach those hundreds of mirrored sequins once the weaving is complete; it is thought that during this collaborative task, the bride's relatives teach her all about the birds and the bees, among other marital duties and expectations. After the wedding ceremony, the bride wears the blanket tied around her neck as a kind of cape. It might be associated with her trip to her new marital home, which could be a chilly ride."

Pretty cool, right? Behold....







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Gorgeous, right? What things do you have on your "list?"

4 comments:

  1. I had no idea that these were so gorgeous. You'd have to make your bed so that these look good, but worth it!

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  2. Oh those are completely beautiful. Where can you find them to purchase? Also, the Alps are a must visit, even if it's not for Christmas. I really want to go back

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    1. There are many online stores that specifically sell Moroccan textiles and I have also seen them on Etsy. A simple Google search yields some good options!

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