Burial Blankets

Home
United States
Chicago, IL
Burial Blankets

Handwoven shrouds for green burial, coming Fall 2021.

01/19/2026

Jeanne came to me with a very clear vision of what she wanted to live with and be buried in: Not a blanket but a garment, inspired by 's project spinning and weaving her own robe.

Made of thick wool and strong linen, this cloth easily holds a gorgeous cowl neck where it folds down over the shoulders and wraps the body in deep warmth. The simple construction involves minimal hand sewing at the selveges to join three panels, leaving holes for the arms and hip slits for movement. Plus over 600 braids of fringe!

Jeanne is a fellow craft artist, master gardener, and landscaper who literally wrote the book on organic farming standards in Rhode Island. Her colors were inspired by the gold sun shining down on green fields. We had a wonderful studio visit this fall where she wove part of her own cloth.

One of the best parts of a custom commission is getting to make things I would never have dreamed up myself. I'm forever ebdebted to Jeanne for bringing this beautiful idea to the loom!

01/14/2026

What are you celebrating right now, and did someone have to (lovingly) remind you to do it?

This is the face of a proud weaver who just finished a huge stack of projects! As always I remain humbled by this craft and so grateful for the skills I have learned. I've also been told to pause more often and appreciate the fact that "𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴" as loved ones keep telling me. So consider these next few posts my commitment to that.

Most recently, I put the final hems on these two gorgeous baby blankets. Made from 100% shiny, silky, iridescent bamboo. As put it, "Any baby would feel like royalty!"

Great as a group gift from friends, these heirloom quality blankets can go in a regular wash cycle and you will take home 🏆GOLD🏆 at the baby shower if you're competitive like that.

Both have a unique pattern and are 38" square. Four hundred bucks plus shipping (or free delivery in Chicago). Message me to claim yours!

01/06/2026

🎉 2026 Baby Blanket Drop 🎊 These two are made of super fine, high shine, colorfast bamboo, each in a unique pattern. A baby would feel like absolute precious royalty in this luxurious, iridescent cloth!

38" square with a cotton hem. Heirloom quality and fully machine washable! Excellent present for new parents, great as a group gift from several friends.

400 bucks each (plus shipping or free delivery in Chicago). Message me to purchase.

Blanket 1 in photos 2-4
Blanket 2 in photos 5-7

01/01/2026

✨️ Happy New Year! ✨️ I was gifted a sewing machine and a Valerie June album over the holidays and I spent the final days of the year finishing so many projects with them. Big news coming soon! For now, I'm just so thankful for artists helping artists be artists, especially when it's dark and cold. Hope you are keeping warm and bright where you can.

03/12/2025

Four years ago I bought my first loom and began prototyping the very first Burial Blankets. It was a "simple" 8-shaft jack loom. This year on New Loom Day, I cut my first project off my new 24-shaft mechanical dobby loom: Nine yards of cloth for my first readymade shroud.

Becoming a professional production weaver has humbled me and altered my brain chemistry many times over. Assembling this beautiful beast was no exception. It is the most complex piece of equipment I've ever used in my 25 years of studio arts: a mechanical wonder of the ancient world updated with a slick modern design. I am already amazed by the work I can make with it.

Many thanks are in order! To Cody for wanting to program the dobby, and for helping me move it along with Andy and ; to Maggie of for her expert help with assembly; to Bob at for remote help tensioning all the cables, springs, threads, and weights; to for the long design consults; and to my weaving teacher who made this all possible.

Last, a special shout out to who shares a birthday with New Loom Day. You always take the time and care to do it right, whatever it is, and you make me a smarter, stronger, better artist daily. I'd jump out of a box truck full of weaving equipment to surprise you with balloons and candy any time, forever.

12/22/2024

Happy Solstice! Every year I light a little candle when I go to bed, to keep me company through the longest night. It's simple and quiet, and just for me.

This year I was invited to build some new, shared traditions for the solstice so I created a much fancier affair: Gold beeswax, black handmade paper stones, and winter greenery from my friends at . We lit it at sunset to burn for a whole night and day.

I hope you are also finding some light in the dark, as we wait for the return of the sun. 🕯💛🌿

11/30/2024

Baby Blankets for , as seen out in the world! I have two of these left for sale, one in Rainbow (slides 5 & 6) and one in Sunrise (slides 7 & 8). Great for keeping newborns warm while matching the fall foliage, or as a beach for your toys to play on, especially when the floor is lava and you need a blue-looking place to cool off your feet. ❤️🧡💛💜💙💚🩵

Price is $350 for a handwoven blanket in 100% mercerized cotton about 33" square. Super soft and warm and cuddly, and maybe the only heirloom gift the parents can put in a regular wash cycle! DM to purchase. Ships anywhere in time for the holidays.

05/12/2024

Baby Blanket drop in honor of Mother's Day! 🌈 Plus donation receipts from the 🍉 raffle in my story & highlight. These new ones are 100% cotton and come in two colorways, inspired by my 4-year-old friend who asked me to make him a "Rainbow Blankie." Meant for celebrating new life they are each 36" square and built to last: an heirloom piece that can be thrown in a regular wash cycle. There will be 4 available for $350 each. DM to purchase!

Thank you again to everyone who supported the raffle. We raised $2,610 for mothers, fathers, children, journalists, and health care workers in G@z@. Most of this reached people in the form of eSIM cards, thanks to the work of and the rest I sent to at the request of to get water to people in Rafah where the Zi0nist occupation has them kettled in a "safe zone" that it is now bombing and starving.

My heart breaks daily. Maybe yours does too. I can offer one small personal story to close out this small project: The winner of the raffle wanted the blanket to go to a mother in Falasteen but of course this was impossible, so she asked that I give it to someone else in need. As it happened, my friend just became a godfather to the newest member of a family he's been supporting since they arrived from Venezuela last year. So I gave him the raffle blanket to give to his godchild's mother, for her birthday, with the love of an entire community.

My beautiful and brilliant mother raised me to love the world, with my actions and no exceptions. May the struggle to free Falasteen be a mother to all oppressed people. 🍉🕊🫒🗝🙏🏻🌈

04/25/2024

Thank you for my Design Feature in the April magazine! It was such a pleasure to answer such beautifully engaged questions from and an honor to share pages with all the Breakout Artists, including familiar faces and 🤩!

Pick up a copy in town or visit the L in my B!

12/31/2023

🍉 FUNDRAISING RAFFLE for eSIMS to GA🕊A! Tickets are $30 / each for a chance to win this beautiful handwoven baby blanket valued at $300. Made from a super soft and squishy blend of cotton and bamboo, this one-of-a-kind heirloom is fully machine washable. Venmo -Zanichkowsky (or DM for other payment options) by January 15 when the winner and donation receipts will be posted.

More details in comments! Please share widely!

09/13/2023

For the very first time, I got to shush a baby to sleep while wrapped in the blanket I wove for him. And not just any baby, but the child of one of my dearest and oldest friends whom I've known since we were just a little older than he is now.

The work I do here is the affirmation of life, every thread and every stitch. Baby LeLe, it's an honor to hold you. Welcome to the world!
emma315 💕mons 💕

Address

Chicago, IL

Website

http://www.burialblankets.net/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Burial Blankets posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to Burial Blankets:

Shortcuts

Want your establishment to be the top-listed Arts & Entertainment in Chicago?