pendleton serape

Yardbird X Pendleton

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We just launched!  

Pillows by Yardbird in Pendleton patterns on an outdoor chaise.

We’re excited to show you our newest partnership with Yardbird. This collection seamlessly blends the deeply rooted American heritage designs of Pendleton’s wool blankets and the durability of Sunbrella® outdoor fabrics. Indoors or outdoors, these pillows bring our storied patterns to your home.

The Patterns

Pillows by Yardbird with Pendleton patterns.

Top and Bottom:

Harding – In 1923, President Warren G. Harding and his wife, Florence, visited Oregon’s Blue Mountain Country to dedicate a portion of the Old Oregon Trail. At the ceremony, leaders of the Cayuse and Umatilla Nations presented Mrs. Harding with a newly designed blanket based on the Chief Joseph blanket by Pendleton. In soft colors, the new design represented the First Lady’s sincerity and forthright nature—qualities greatly respected by Native Americans. Named the Harding Robe in 1926, it remains one of the most sought-after patterns manufactured by Pendleton Woolen Mills today.

Middle and Right:

Serape Stripe – Although the serape has its roots in Mexican weaving, Native American tribes in the Southwest began weaving serape-style blankets in the late 19th century. Originally, natural dyes were red or brown; the introduction of aniline dyes and machine-spun yarn gave birth to brilliant hues and finer stripes. Our serape blanket stays true to this classic historic style and can serve as a traditional shawl or decorative throw.

Grand Canyon – Stripe:  The mile-deep geology of Arizona’s Grand Canyon unfolds in a warm ombre of burnt umber, ochre, rust and red against a deep blue background of sky and shadow. This stripe is part of the Pendleton National Park series. Since 1916, Pendleton has offered a series of blankets honoring America’s National Parks with colors and stripes to pay homage to these treasured American landscapes. Since 2006, Pendleton and its partners have raised more than $1.5 million through the sale of Parks merchandise to support the National Park Foundation in its mission to preserve and protect the parks for future generations.

Lower Left:

Tucson – The Tucson area was originally home to the Pima tribe. A Pima legend says that in the beginning there was darkness, from which Creator emerged. He pulled a magic stick from his heart and formed a ball with its resin that grew into the Earth as he sang, “I make the world, and see, the world is finished…let it go, start it forth!” In this pattern, the magical creation stick helps bring the Earth, Stars, Moon and Sun from the darkness.

Learn More

See the Yardbird x Pendleton collection here: Yardbird x Pendleton Pillows

Learn more about Sunbrella fabrics here: Pendleton x Sunbrella

An Adirondack chair with a Pendleton and Yardbird pillow in the Harding pattern.
Blue "Born in Oregon" logo

Iconic Pendleton Patterns: Stripes

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Pendleton Stripes

In our last post, we talked about Shelter Bay, a pattern that combines our camp stripes with the motif from one of our most popular blankets, San Miguel (read the post here: Shelter Bay). Part of that pattern’s beauty lies in its camp striped borders.

blonde man and brunette woman seated in front of a window, wrapped in a pendleton Camp Stripe blanket. Woman is holding a cup of coffee.

photo by Cassy Berry

Pendleton’s camp stripe blankets are popular, and not just for their utilitarian history. Camp stripes bring the spirit of the outdoors to whatever they grace, thanks to colors that reflect Western landscapes: forests, lakes, river gorges, coastal crags, and the rich colors of the high desert. These stripes find their way to home goods and apparel, especially outdoor shirts and warm outerwear.  See them here: Camp Stripes

But what about our other stripes?

Serape Stripes

With their bands of contrasting colors, serape stripes are designed to dazzle.

Pendleton serape stripe blankets hanging on pegs, next to a stack of folded Pendleton serape stripe blankets

 

photo by Pendleton Woolen Mills

Traditional serapes (called sarapes south of the border) are colorful, sturdy blanket shawls that were part of life in the Mexican home. A serape could serve as a tablecloth, bedding, impromptu hammock, or improvised tent. It could be worn as a shawl, or converted to a poncho. Clothing, bedding, shelter: the serape was versatile!

When southern California’s surfers made trips to Baja, Mexico, to ride the waves, they brought home serape blankets and Baja jackets. The serape stripe became part of the “Endless Summer” of American surf culture. Pendleton’s serape stripes are found on shirts, jackets, hoodies, and bold wool blankets that are perfect for the beach, the porch, or the park.

Man standing on beach wearing striped overshirt.

photo by Danielle Visco

In the Southwestern United States, Pendleton serapes are also known as “Goopesala,” or “Good Blankets.” They are often used in the Give-Away Ceremony, performed at honor dances, weddings and many other occasions. Hosts give gifts to their guests, with no expectation of return. “What is given away returns to the giver, in another form of good.”

Archival photo from early 1900s of a Navajo family (father, mother, three young children) riding in a wagon with a Pendleton serape stripe blanket

photo: Pendleton Archives

In this photo from the Pendleton archives, a Pueblo family rides in one of the original wagons like those used by the Babbitt brothers, five shopkeepers who came west in 1886 to make their mark. They founded the CO Bar cattle ranch, in addition to opening a mercantile in Flagstaff, Arizona. In time, their success with commerce equaled their success with cattle. Over the next 100 years, the Babbitts owned and operated over twenty trading posts, doing business with the Navajo, Hopi and Apache peoples. Babbitt’s is still active and thriving—and working with Pendleton.

See our serapes here: Serape Stripe Blankets

Park Stripes

Some are bold, some are busy, but every National Park stripe blanket celebrates America’s Treasures, with a portion of sales supporting the work of the National Park Foundation.

Kyle_Houck_NP_CraterLake_Home (2)

photo by Kyle Houck

Here are a few fun facts about Pendleton National Park blankets:

  • The oldest design, Glacier Park, originally had “points” to give it the feel of an old-time “candy stripe” blanket traded by fur trappers, but the fur trade had ceased long before Pendleton began weaving blankets.
  • Any Pendleton National Park blanket with points was made before 1938. These marks referred to blanket size, and as the blankets grew in length and width, the points became inaccurate.
  • Pendleton has made blankets for 17 different parks. Two blankets, Crater Park and Shasta, are mysteries. They are listed but not pictured in archival sales materials, and there are no surviving examples.
  • Pendleton introduced plaid National Park throws after World War II. There were four different Grand Canyon plaid throws in those days, plus a newer one introduced in 2009.
  • Part of a National Park blanket’s appeal is its striped simplicity, but some older blankets featured mountains, pine trees, flowers—even a stylized Thunderbird.

Photo taken in Glacier National Park of a man and woman in front of a glacier, wrapped in a Pendleton Glacier National Park blanket

Photo by Kristen Irey

Park stripes are not just for blankets anymore. Their bold colors and happy associations make them a natural to wear and use each and every day. Park stripes prove their versatility in farmhouses, industrial spaces, ranch homes, tiny houses, lake cabins, tents, yurts and trailers! Wherever you live, park stripes are right at home.

See them here: Park Blankets

Which stripe is your favorite?

PWM_USA_label

Serape Blankets and a Valentine Giveaway

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Ah, the serape.

Just looking at it makes you happy. This blanket reads modern, but it’s been around for a long time. Colorful, sturdy and functional, this blanket shawl was part of life in the traditional Mexican home, where it could serve as clothing, bedding and shelter. Colorful, versatile and fun; no wonder it’s a Pendleton customer favorite.

A stack of colorful serape blankets, with the words "Enter to win a serape blanket"

The serape’s roots

The serape’s roots are in the Mexican weaving tradition, but it is now common to both Spanish and Native American textiles. It’s known by many names throughout Mexico, including chamarro, cobiga, and gaban. It can be woven of a variety of materials and patterns but is generally lighter in weight. Different regions use different palettes, from the elegant neutrals of the Mexican highlands to the bold gradients of Coahuila.

HistoricBabbitWagonEdit2

Here’s a photo of a Native family in a historic Babbitt Brothers wagon with a serape peeking over the edge. This was taken in the Southwest, where the Babbitts plied (and still ply) their trade.

Pendleton’s serapes

Pendleton weaves our serapes of 82% wool/18% cotton in bands of gradient colors to achieve that beautiful eye-popping dimensional effect. This is your perfect spring and summer blanket, just waiting to be invited along wherever you go. And this week (2/14/19 through 2/17/19) we are giving one away on Instagram! So go enter!

Two twin-sized beds made up with serape blankets. A superimposed heart contains the words "Valentines Day Giveaway."

P.S. Serape stripes are not just for blankets!

A men's popover shirt in a blue serape stripe. A photo of the goods included in the Pendleton collaboration with Tommy Bahama, including a vest, a sweater, a hoodie, a shirt, a bag, a poncho and a blanket. These goods are displayed on dressmaker forms in a sunny room.

While you’re visiting www.pendleton-usa.com , be sure to check out our serape stripe beach towels, the Pendleton and Tommy Bahama collaboration for Fall 2018, and our men’s popover hoodie in a special heavy cotton chamois that’s brushed on both sides for ultimate comfort.