1:29pm Sunday 23rd December 2007
A fabric woven at a Pembrokeshire woollen mill in 1969 has appeared in a new festive Hollywood film.
David and Margaret Redpath, who owned 200-year-old Wallis Woollen Mill, near Ambleston, for many years, were puzzled when their son and granddaughter said they had spotted the fabric in a trailer for the new Warner Brothers film Fred Claus'.
The distinctive weave of bright turquoise, purple, scarlet and orange is worn by Santa's mother in the film and is unmistakably the Redpath's unique Crown Prince fabric, in a traditional Welsh tapestry design, which the couple wove to commemorate the Investiture of the Prince of Wales.
"It was a bed cover which proved a good seller over the years, but how it got to be used in this film we don't know," said David.
"Because I wanted top quality I put 10% more wool in mine than anyone else had, and it shows how durable it is to be still in such good nick after nearly 40 years."
He and Margaret no longer weave, but are internationally acclaimed dye experts who have produced and advised on centuries-old recipes for the restoration of ecclesiastical hangings, stately home fabrics and even the Bayeaux Tapestry.
Using natural colours in plants and tree bark, they have recreated mediaeval dyes which have been used across the world, and have recently visited America, India and other far flung places sharing their expertise.
"Where Warner Brothers got this material we don't know, a bedcover must have had a long and circuitous route to Warner Brothers," David added.
"A visitor to Wales may have bought one and taken it home as a throw. Eventually it went to a sale or charity shop - who knows?"
David has now written to the film company informing them of the origin of Santa's mother's garb, worn by star Kathy Bates.
"Theoretically, someone could have copied our design, but that doesn't matter," he said.
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