Using tapestry techniques to weave rugs

Using tapestry techniques to weave rugs

We often assume that tapestries are a pictorial fabric we hang on the wall. We also assume that rugs are fabric we put on the floor. But a rug can be a tapestry you use on the floor. It is likely a rug will use thicker weft and a wider sett than a tapestry you’ll hang on the wall.*

Last year I created a class called Introduction to Rug Weaving where I use a rug-weight yarn to create textiles intended for the table. The weight of the finished pieces would make very nice smaller floor rugs or even a larger rug in an area that doesn’t get constant traffic.

There is a functional question here. I used to be an occupational therapist so I’m very sensitive to having things on the floor that are going to cause people to trip. A lightweight piece of fabric on the floor is just a tripping hazard and will at the very least need some sort of grippy mat to stay put. A thicker and therefore heavier textile is much more suited to being walked on.

,

Finishing your tapestry: a plait or braid makes a neat finish

,
Finishing your tapestry: a plait or braid makes a neat finish

As a teacher of tapestry, one of the most frequent requests I get is for information about finishing. And I don’t just mean how to take the tapestry off the loom and clean it up whether you’re tying or needling in the tails. I mean what do you do with the warps that are left sticking out of two sides of your tapestry?*

Think about the finished project before you start

The clip below is from a Change the Shed episode where I’m talking about thinking about how you’re doing your warping and headers before you start a piece because if you don’t, you may not be able to finish the piece as you want. I also put in a plug for experimentation.

Tapestry inspiration from the geology and archaeology in the southwestern USA

Tapestry inspiration from the geology and archaeology in the southwestern USA

I have lived a lot of my life near the four corners in the USA.* I grew up in Gallup, New Mexico and three years ago I felt like I moved home again when I landed in southwestern Colorado, just a couple hours north of Gallup. The landscapes in this part of the world are horizon and mountains and sand and rock. And these things influence the way I make art. How could they not since they have so heavily influenced who I am?

,

The Tapestry Discovery Box courses return

,
The Tapestry Discovery Box courses return

The Tapestry Discovery Box courses are back! I am re-releasing the Tapestry Discovery courses starting this week and I thought it might be interesting to tell you how they came about. There were thirteen Tapestry Discovery Box courses and the last one dropped in January of 2026. The advent of this course series is closely tied to Gist Yarn's development of Array tapestry wool. But first…

,

Choosing weft colors for the Tapestry Discovery courses

,
Choosing weft colors for the Tapestry Discovery courses

Choosing weft colors for tapestry weaving can feel a little overwhelming when you’re a newer tapestry weaver. There are many choices and they can seem overwhelming. Some tapestry yarns come in over 400 colors! How is a person supposed to choose among them when they’re all so pretty?!!

I am re-releasing the Tapestry Discovery courses so that everyone can have a chance to enjoy them. These courses were originally part of a subscription product done in collaboration with Gist Yarn and they came with a box of yarn. I made the choices, you wove with them! In the re-release, there is no yarn kit. Part of learning tapestry is figuring out how to choose colors and that is something we’re going to be doing in these courses this time around.

Yarn substitution for tapestry weaving. Can I use the yarn I already have?

Yarn substitution for tapestry weaving. Can I use the yarn I already have?

Not just any yarn will work for tapestry weaving and if you’ve tried to use a knitting yarn like Cascade 220 or Knit Picks Wool of the Andes,* you know that these squishy yarns are difficult to use for tapestry and don’t get the best results.

A good tapestry yarn isn’t lofty, doesn’t have much end-to-end stretch, and comes in a lot of colors. Most tapestry weavers bundle thinner weft strands in a bundle to not only achieve the weft bundle size they need for the sett they’re working at, but to increase their color options by blending hues in the weft bundle.

,

Living in the shadow of a national park. The ultimate inspiration and the importance of public lands.

,
Living in the shadow of a national park. The ultimate inspiration and the importance of public lands.

I’ve always been a national park junkie. I love visiting them and you’d be right to guess that I have one of those little passport folios where you can collect dated stamps from each park. Our new home in southwestern Colorado is on the doorstep of Mesa Verde National Park which I now call “my” park.” It is marvelous to be able to get there in a matter of minutes any time I want to.

Mesa Verde is a park devoted to antiquities. It was created to preserve the marvelous archaeological sites that exist there. And since it is a national park, we can visit and learn from the rangers and if we’re lucky from the native people who love it most.