I have posted about this topic in the past and I felt it was time to update some resources . Many of you have been weaving tapestry for a very long time now and I’d love to hear what other suggestions you have for equipment and materials in the comments.
Learning a new art or craft can mean that you need to purchase some supplies. The hard thing is knowing what you actually need when there are so many options. Below is a list of equipment and yarns which I’ve seen be very successfully used by beginning tapestry weavers. Some people will use the same materials for their whole weaving career!
Tapestry weaving can be quite simple and you can make or use household items for many of the tools. I’ve divided the things you’ll need into three categories: Looms, Tools, and Materials.
Looms
A loom is simply a device that keeps a set of warp threads under tension so the weft can be woven across it. Tapestry has a simple structure so you can use a very simple loom to weave it. Here are some suggestions for good starter looms. As you’re shopping, consider whether you need it to be portable (will you weave on your lap on the couch or at a table?), price, and size of tapestry you want to weave on it.
Non-tensioned looms: these looms do not have a way of increasing the tension on the warp after it is on the loom. That is fine for small projects.
Handywoman Shop looms
Schacht Easel Weaver or Lily Looms
Lost Pond Looms
Made Kit looms (coming again in 2022)
Tensioned looms: these looms have the ability to increase tension on the warp which can make it easier to weave and is beneficial for pieces larger than about 8 inches square.
Mirrix Saffron Pocket Loom (one of the only very small tensioned looms available)
Home-made copper pipe loom. There are instructions for making these in Fringeless, Weaving Tapestry on Little Looms, and the Introduction to Tapestry Weaving courses.
Glimakra Freja
C. Cactus Flower
Larger continuously warped tapestry looms: Mirrix Lani, Little Guy, Big Sister, or Zach loom or the Schacht Arras Tapestry loom. These looms will serve you very well for any small to intermediate sized tapestry.
Don’t forget that you can weave tapestry on a large loom also. Looms with beams that have counterbalance or countermarche mechanisms make fantastic tapestry looms in most instances. Lighter jack looms often do not work very well. Macomber looms larger than 40 inches wide are one great option for tapestry among the jack looms. My favorite loom for tapestry is the Harrisville Rug Loom (you can see me weaving on it on Change the Shed). You can get looms with beams that orient the warp horizontally or vertically and which is best for you depends somewhat on your body and how you like to weave tapestry.
There are many more blog posts about looms and you can find them all under the loom category on this blog. A good starter post is THIS one.
Tools
A few simple tools help the weaving go more smoothly. Which tools you need depends somewhat on the loom you’re using. For all looms, these things are useful:
a yarn needle (Susan Bates 5 inch weaving needle is my favorite but any yarn needle works)
tapestry needle (size 18 or 20 is great for sewing slits)
a tapestry fork (Magpie Woodworks and Threads Thru Time are my favorite but there are many other styles out there that work including Sketch Looms, Handywoman Shop, and a variety of Navajo-style tapestry forks)
For non-tensioned frame-type looms you’ll also want:
a shed stick. Schacht Spindle Co makes a “weaving stick” that works well as a shed stick (9 inch size). Handywoman Shop has a beautiful shed stick. And Yarnworker has a lovely shed stick she calls a pick-up stick just the size I like.
a few small tapestry bobbins (optional and useful if you’re using a delicate yarn, otherwise not necessary) See Milissa Ellison Dewey, Alexandra Iosub, and Glimakra’s 4 inch bobbins.
If you have a loom with a shedding device and tensioning like the larger Mirrix looms and the Schacht Arras Tapestry loom, you will likely not need a shed stick as long as you’re using the shedding device.
Materials (warp and weft)
Weft
There are so many choices of weft yarn. Here are three possibilities:
Harrisville Highland. This worsted-weight yarn can be woven at one strand and 8 epi. Made in the USA.
Gist Yarn’s Array. This thinner yarn needs to be woven with 3-4 strands at once at 8 epi. Made in the USA.
weaversbazaar. This tapestry yarn comes in 3 weights. The medium or fine weight are the ones I use the most with multiple strands at once. The heavy weight is a little thin for using one strand at once, but at a sett of 10-12 epi or so might work well. Made and sold in the UK and a great option if you’re in Europe.
I have written a lot about weft yarn on my blog. You can find those posts in the category Yarn. You might look at the post about anchor yarns which relates to how I present weft choice in my book, The Art of Tapestry Weaving.
There are many other options and what you choose may well depend on where you live in the world. You don’t have to have one of these yarns shipped overseas. See if you can find something locally that will work for you.
Warp
Beginners do best with cotton seine twine. I like the Swedish twine from Bockens (made in Egypt and sold by GlimakraUSA through many dealers in the USA). There are other seine twine makers from Canada and other Scandinavian countries. If they call it cotton seine twine it probably will work well for tapestry. For small tapestries at 8 epi (where you’ll start as a beginner in my courses), get 12/9 or 12/6 sizing from Bockens or 12s sizing from other makers.
This is what the cotton seine twine from GlimakraUSA/Sweden looks like. The 12/6 size comes in colors. Other warps are not cabled like this one such as the warp from Brassard in Canada which means the surface of the warp is not as smooth as this Swedish warp.
Education
There are many ways to learn tapestry weaving but my favorite is a combination of reading and learning from a teacher. If that works for you, may I suggest the newest tapestry techniques book on the market? And perhaps an online class?
The Art of Tapestry Weaving: Mastering the Techniques for Making Images with Yarn
Online course: Introduction to Tapestry Weaving
Live in the USA and want a shopping list?
If you don’t want to look at all the options and you don’t have any tools yet, this is what I suggest you purchase for either the Introduction to Tapestry Weaving course or Weaving Tapestry on Little Looms.
Mirrix Saffron Pocket Loom (could substitute any of the other looms above)
Shed stick: Schacht 9 inch weaving stick or if the loom is very small, Yarnworker’s pick-up stick
Susan Bates 5 inch weaving needle (or any other yarn needle, metal or plastic)
Tapestry needle size 18, 20, or 22
Warp: 12/6 or 12/9 cotton seine twine for warp in natural
Weft: Gist Yarn’s Array in at least 5 colors (could substitute Harrisville Highland: The Weaver’s Loft and Dakota Designs sell small color packs of this yarn)
If you want a kit, Gist Yarn is selling one HERE.
Want to substitute things you make yourself or are easily found at home?
Make a copper pipe loom for $25-30 USD
Substitute a popsicle stick or bamboo skewer for the shed stick
I don’t recommend this if you can get cotton seine twine, but you can use crochet cotton for warp (for small projects only!)
Knitting yarns are not great for tapestry. HERE is the reason why. And HERE are some other options if you can’t get my recommended yarns. Better to weave something with whatever materials you can get than not weave because you can’t find just the thing I mentioned!
What are your favorite tapestry tools and materials? Let us know in the comments!
Here are some more than one of you have told me about but that I haven’t tried myself.
Looms by Intertwined by Jean. Thanks to Merna for reminding me about this loom again!
This loom is one that I have and still haven’t warped but I’m excited to use it. Sold by weaversbazaar in the UK, it comes apart and stores in a tube and I keep forgetting I have it because it packs so small! Artisan Adjustable Tapestry Frame made by Andrew Dickinson who also makes those gorgeous bobbins weaversbazaar sells.
Cathy mentioned the styrene bobbins (plastic) as an alternative. They are much less expensive than other options and she says if there is a bit of a bur on the tip, you can use sandpaper to remove it. I think these bobbins would work really well for protecting your tapestry weft on small looms. The Woolery has the in the USA.