Undyed British Alpaca Blanket in Mid Grey, Freight HHG
Last updated: 10 October 2026
This British alpaca blanket costs £165 from Freight HHG in Lewes, and the grey is not a dye. It is simply the colour the animals were at shearing. The fleece comes from a small independent UK herd. A Yorkshire spinner turns it into a bespoke yarn, then a Lancashire mill 13 miles away weaves it, and Freight has worked with that mill for nearly ten years. It measures 140 x 180cm in 70% alpaca and 30% responsibly sourced merino, woven as a broken herringbone and finished with a thin contrast selvedge border. One correction before you order: Freight's own description on this page covers all three blankets in the collection, so it reads as though this one carries the irregular check. It does not. Price and availability checked at Freight on 6 September 2026.
Undyed is the whole point
Most grey wool starts white and goes through a dye bath. This one skips that. Freight commissioned two bespoke yarns from undyed alpaca tops, so the colour comes off the animals themselves and shifts between batches. Their own listing puts the consequence bluntly: no two batches will ever be the same.
So the shade you get is the shade shearing produced. It also drops one of the most water-hungry and chemically heavy steps in textile finishing. Alpaca grows in 22 recognised colours, according to the British Alpaca Society. That range is why leaving it alone works as a design decision rather than a compromise.
Why alpaca rather than wool
Alpaca fibre carries no lanolin, and it has fewer surface scales than sheep's wool. So it feels smoother and it resists pilling. The British Alpaca Society also rates it warmer than sheep's wool, and second only to silk for strength. Then there is moisture: alpaca wicks it away rather than holding it.
Freight blends in 30% merino for softness and finish, then weaves the result in a broken herringbone. Their description of the hand is the useful bit: thick and warm, yet lightweight and lofty. A pure alpaca blanket this size would be heavier and drape worse. So the merino does structural work rather than cutting cost.
Which of the three this actually is
Three designs came out of the project, sold as three separate products rather than as variants of one. The patterned one is the Plaid: a grey melange under what Freight calls a "single collision plaid" in darkest chocolate, which strips a traditional check back to one off-centre crossing of lines. Behind that sits the German-Venezuelan artist Gego, whose irregular linear structures Freight's creative director Adele has long admired.
Mid Grey is not that one. It is one of the two plainer designs, a soft undyed grey melange with a thin darker selvedge running down the edge and a fringed finish. The whole point of it is the fibre rather than a pattern, which is why the border is the only decoration on it.
The confusion is Freight's, not yours. All three listings carry the same description of the collection, and that description leads with the collision plaid, so the Mid Grey page reads as though the check is on this blanket. Look at the photographs on the listing and you can see it is not. If you want the check, buy the Plaid; it is the same price.
Olivia Johnson, who designed the weave
Freight brought in Olivia Johnson to develop it. She spent over a decade at Scottish cashmere and fine woollen mills, building woven accessories for luxury brands. Now she consults on weave design and innovation, working a handloom from a studio in south east London.
Johnson gives her reason plainly: woven goods have grown too alike, and craft-led innovation is the way back. Hand weaving lets her push a mistake further instead of correcting it. The irregular plaid is exactly what that method throws up, and exactly what a spreadsheet would not.
Specification
| Detail | Freight HHG |
|---|---|
| Price | £165 |
| Composition | 70% British alpaca, undyed tops; 30% responsibly sourced merino wool |
| Size | 140 x 180cm |
| Structure | Broken herringbone, plain, with a thin contrast selvedge border |
| Colour | Undyed grey melange, fringed edges |
| Fibre origin | A small independent alpaca herd in the UK |
| Spinning | Yorkshire |
| Weaving | A small Lancashire mill, 13 miles from the spinner |
| Weave design | Olivia Johnson |
| Care | Dry clean, or hand wash in cool water |
| Others in the range | Plaid, which carries the collision check, and Bitter Chocolate. Both £165 |
Freight HHG, and why the maker is hard to find
Freight is an independent brand at 196 High Street, Lewes BN7 2NS, founded in 2014 by Hélène and Adele. Hélène ran the Lewes shop Adamczewski for over 12 years first. Adele trained in architectural design at Central Saint Martins and Brighton. The shop designs most of what it sells in house, then has British small-batch manufacturers make it.
One practical warning. Freight's collection grids publish no stock at all. Many listings bury the maker deep in the description, or skip the name altogether, so browsing a category page tells you very little. Everything here came off the product page itself, checked on 6 September 2026.
What £165 buys against the alternatives
Freight's own lambswool blankets sit at £115 and £140. So the alpaca carries a £25 to £50 premium over the same shop's wool. For that you get the undyed fibre, the finer hand and the traceable herd. You also lose the option of a machine wash.
Against a supermarket throw it loses on price, and it never set out to win there. This is the buy-once end, alongside our page on the Quinton & Chadwick Graph Scarf. That is the £80 British lambswool version of the same argument. You wear the scarf out. This lives on the end of a sofa for twenty years.
Buy the Undyed British Alpaca Blanket in Mid Grey, £165
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Freight British alpaca blanket?
£165, direct from Freight HHG, checked 6 September 2026. UK standard delivery takes 3 to 5 working days, with express options at checkout.
Does the Mid Grey have the check on it?
No. The check belongs to the Plaid blanket, which Freight sells as a separate product at the same price. Mid Grey is plain, with a thin contrast selvedge border. All three listings share one description, which is where the confusion comes from.
Is it really undyed?
Yes. Freight commissioned the yarn from undyed British alpaca tops. The grey is the natural colour of the fleece at shearing, so it varies between batches.
Where is it made?
England. The alpaca comes from a small independent UK herd. A Yorkshire spinner makes the yarn, then a small Lancashire mill 13 miles over the border weaves the blankets.
How big is it?
140 x 180cm, which covers a two-seater sofa or one adult on a sofa comfortably. It is a throw rather than a bed blanket.
Can I machine wash it?
No. Freight specifies dry clean, or hand wash in cool water. That is normal for an undyed alpaca and merino weave.
What are the other two designs?
Plaid and Bitter Chocolate, both £165. Plaid is the one carrying the irregular collision check. Bitter Chocolate is plain like the Mid Grey, in a much darker undyed fleece.
Is there a cheaper Freight blanket?
Yes. Their British lambswool blankets run £115 for the indigo check and £140 for the supersoft indigo stripe. Alpaca cushion sole socks are £22.50, if you want the fibre without the outlay.
Sources
- Freight HHG product page: price, stock, composition, dimensions, weave and the Olivia Johnson quote, checked 6 September 2026.
- Freight HHG: the founders, the 2014 start and the Lewes shop.
- British Alpaca Society: the 22 natural colours, the absence of lanolin, and how alpaca compares with sheep's wool.
More from CoolCuration
- Tracey Emin blanket at Tate: the art-edition answer to the same corner of the sofa.
- Sheep Inc: knitwear with the flock traced, if the supply chain is the part you like.
- Carbon conscious gifts: the whole guide, for presents that do not quietly cost the earth.
- Buy Me Once: the shop that only stocks things designed to outlast you.
- Best sustainable gifts UK: the roundup, with prices checked at the seller.
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