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The Princess of Wales proved that textiles are in the family ‘genes’ as she helped finish off a special pair of trousers made for her husband, Prince William.
Catherine, 44, was warmly welcomed to Hiut Denim, a family-owned company based in Cardigan, Wales, as part of a royal away to highlight the flourishing Welsh textiles industry.
Her passion to highlight British manufacturing is in part inspired by her own family history: her father’s ancestors owned William Lupton & Co, a woollen merchant and manufacturer based in Leeds.
Hiut designs and manufactures premium jeans entirely in the UK, and the princess chatted with three trainees who took her to a sewing machine where she was given the chance to sew the label into a pair of jeans made specially for Prince William.
She was shown how the firm sews a ‘Made in Wales’ label inside the back of every pair of jeans and said: ‘I love the label Made in Wales. You can really see the handcraft and care taken.’
The princess successfully controlled the pedal of the machinery, despite wearing high heels. And when she finished the label she held William’s finished jeans, which would normally cost £245, up proudly and said ‘He will love them’.
Phoebe Phillips, 31, a trainee from Cardigan who showed Kate how to work the machine, said afterwards: ‘She was good. She had a lot of control. She was wearing high heels but there wasn’t any issue with the pedal.’
Earlier, Catherine had been welcomed to the factory by an English cocker spaniel, seven-year-old Barney, who was, appropriately, wearing a denim bow tie.
The Princess of Wales sews a Made in Wales tag onto a pair of jeans during a visit to Hiut Deni
Kate appeared to have an anxious look on her face as she gets stuck in with some sewing
The Princess of Wales is shown an article of clothing during a visit to Hiut Denim, a family-owned company based in Cardigan
The Princess of Wales meets the Hiut Denim factor dog Barney
The princess bent down to stroke the pet and was heard telling the staff she has the same breed of dog at home, Orla
The Princess of Wales is shown how to cut material during a visit to Hiut Denim
After being shown the ropes, the Princess had a go at cutting the material herself
The Princess of Wales with a master cutter during a visit to Hiut Denim
Johann Von Loeper, Hiut’s CEO, said: ‘This is our factory dog.’
The princess bent down to stroke the pet and was heard telling the staff she has the same breed of dog at home, Orla.
She also confirmed the Daily Mail’s recent exclusive that the Wales family had decided to keep a puppy from the litter Orla recently had, saying: ‘You are lovely! We have the same breed of dog.
‘So we’ve got a little puppy, he’s only eight months, and Orla’s five.’
The princess was given a 45-minute tour of the factory during which she was also handed a pair of scissors and asked to begin cutting denim for a new pair of jeans.
She cut slowly then said: ‘My most adventurous, was a pair of pyjamas, but I don’t know where they are now.’
Speaking to the design team, Catherine asked: ‘Do you do a variety and big range of different denim? How many different cuts and designs have you got currently as part of the collection?’
She was told the jeans are all named after grandparents of staff members, remarking: ‘It’s so lovely, I love the storytelling women through the business.’
Posing for a group photo the princess, who wore green trousers and an eye-catching 1960s vintage Welsh wool coat, joked: ‘I feel like I should have worn a pair of jeans.’
Dozens of locals waited outside to greet the princess as she left the factory, with several well-wishers asking the famous visitor for a selfie, including Kai Owen, 15.
He said: ‘I thought I would never see her again so thought I might as well. I will post it on Instagram, she was very nice in the interaction I had.’
The Princess of Wales at Melin Tregwynt, a woollen mill weaving traditional Welsh designs
Melin Tregwynt is a woollen mill in a remote wooded valley on the Pembrokeshire coast
The princess is visiting Wales to celebrate some of the country’s leading textile producers
The future Queen, who is visiting Melin Tregwynt, has a keen interest in fabrics and textiles
Catherine has visited a number of weaving mills and manufacturers over the past 12 months
Melin Tregwynt was run for more than 100 years by generations of the Griffiths family
The Princess of Wales was in Wales to raise the fashion stakes as she promoted British craftsmanship.
Hiut Denim, a family-owned company based in Cardigan, Wales, designs and manufactures premium jeans entirely in the UK. Its first jeans factory opened in the 1960s employed over 400 staff crafting 35,000 pairs a week.
But when production moved overseas to Morocco in 2002 there were fears that skills and knowledge would disappear forever.
Hiut was founded in 2011 to train a new generation of craftspeople to ensure the skill did not die. The company offers free repairs of Hiut jeans for life, and has launched their ‘Déjà Blue’ initiative, where they take back unwanted jeans from customers which are then repaired and resold.
Earlier in the day, Kate visited Melin Tregwynt, a woollen mill weaving traditional Welsh designs in a remote wooded valley on the Pembrokeshire coast, which has been in continuous operation since at least 1841.
Melin Tregwynt employs more than 40 local people and holds an extensive archive of traditional patterns, which are carefully preserved and revived so that the craft can be passed on to future generations.
The team focus on Welsh double-cloth weaving, which is a traditional, wool textile technique producing reversible, thick blankets with inverted patterns on each side.
The princess met with Melin’s director Louise Clarke, who showed the full production process, from the weaving machines to the finished products, and introduced some of the talented young weavers who are learning the craft.
Melin Tregwynt, where Catherine is visiting, was set up as an employee-owned trust in 2022
Catherine visits Melin Tregwynt which is known for its luxurious woollen blankets and throws
The company still weaves its fabrics in the mill bought by Henry Griffiths in 1912
The princess is celebrating some of the country’s leading textile producers with her trip today
The princess is pictured during a visit today to Melin Tregwynt on the Pembrokeshire coast
The company brings a contemporary approach to denim while remaining committed to high‑quality, UK‑based production.
Cardigan’s heritage as a centre of jeans‑making stretches back to the 1960s, when 400 artisans produced 35,000 pairs each week.
After the industry moved offshore in 2002, much of that expertise was lost.
To finish her day celebrating Welsh textiles, the Princess of Wales privately visited the Welsh Quilt Centre in Lampeter.
The Welsh Quilt Centre holds founder Jen Jones vast collection of quilts – Jen has been collecting Welsh quilts for 40 years and opened the centre in 2009 to give everyone the opportunity to see, enjoy and learn about her remarkable collection as well as examples from other quilting heritages.
As well as exhibitions of quilts, the centre aims to encourage Welsh quilting in its heartland.
The princess viewed some of Jen’s 1000+ piece collection, and then joined a quilting workshop of 8 local women to hear about their current projects and their passion for keeping the historic art of quilting alive.
The women spoke to the princess about using quilting as a tool for connection and to foster a sense of belonging within their community.
She then popped next door to the local Ty Hafan charity shop to thank the volunteers for all they do to support the charity.
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