Traditional Welsh Nursing Shawls & Welsh shoulder shawls

The big shawl has been in demand for centuries in the steep sided valleys of Wales, as a very practical way of carrying a baby, keeping mother warm and leaving both hands free. Prams were not a practical proposition in such hilly areas and the siol magi has for centuries provided a solution to many of the problems of valley mothers.

Very fine wool often with wonderful fringes ..

The Siol Bach also known as a neck shawl or shoulder shawl would usually be folded into a triangle and often pinned by a thorn from the hedgerow.

Very early shawls were in plain colours with possibly a fine over check but around 1900 plaids became more common