Whether you’re just beginning or have been weaving tapestry awhile, there are some things that trip most weavers up at some point. Over all the years I’ve been teaching, these are the things I’ve seen the most often that give people working in tapestry difficulties.
Weft tension
Weft tension is what controls warp spacing. This is probably the biggest problem I see new weavers have. Weft tension problems can lead to lice, your fell line bunching up because the weft can’t pack in, or most commonly, the edges of your tapestry either draw in or push out.
In the photo, lice are showing (red arrow) which can also be a function of a mismatch between sett and weft size or it can come from not bubbling (weft tension) or packing the weft enough. The blue circle indicates a weft tension problem. The warps have grown close together and there isn’t enough space for the weft to pack in and cover the warp.
Weft tension can cause quite a few different issues in tapestry weaving.
Here is a YouTube video with some good tips about how to recognize and manage weft tension. Warp Spacing and Weft Tension.
Choosing yarn
Materials. What weft yarn should you choose? Choosing the wrong materials can be expensive!
It is tempting to start weaving tapestry with whatever yarn you have in your stash. Unless that yarn is appropriate for tapestry weaving, I’d advise against this until you have more experience. It is very difficult to learn techniques, especially weft tension management if you are switching the materials you’re using all the time.
It is tempting to use knitting yarn for tapestry because you have it and it can be very lovely. The blog post below talks about why this often isn’t a great choice.
Gist Array tapestry yarn and yarn cards
So what kind of yarn should you use? I wrote another blog post that talks about how to choose a good yarn for tapestry. I also have a whole class about this. If choosing materials and especially weft yarn is challenging, this short course might be exactly the thing to help you make a smart choice and save a lot of money in the long run. The blog post below originally from 2018 and updated today tells you what to look for and has some good choices. My website has a list of materials resources that includes yarns and there are some international sources at the bottom of the page.
Blog post: What makes a good tapestry yarn?
Continuous warping and getting that last knot tight
Schacht Arras tapestry loom with warping bar
Many people are knot challenged. This is an affliction you can overcome! When warping a loom with a continuous warp and a warping bar such as a regular Mirrix loom or the Schacht Arras tapestry loom, that last knot can be tricky to tension correctly. In the blog post linked below there is a video which shows you how to make the last knot on your warping bar. I think the mistake I see the most with people using this knot is that they don’t understand that the knot has to slide AWAY from the bar at the end of the warp to tension that last strand. (It slides toward the bar if you use it at the beginning of the warp.)
Blog post: No more floppy selvedges. This is the knot to use.
Blue tape is your friend here.* This less sticky painters tape is great for holding warps. In the video you’ll see me tying that last knot and the warp is hanging loosely. That is because I have taped the warp to the top of the loom securely to maintain the tension on the rest of the warp.
How to achieve the effects you want: Design
At some point the techniques themselves become easier but knowing how to use a particular technique to achieve the result you want can become a sticking point. This is all related to design. Learning how to simplify ideas so that they work in the medium of tapestry takes a lot of practice. If this frustrates you, you’re not alone. Especially if you’re weaving at small sizes, learning to adapt your ideas so that they are able to be expressed in this medium is key. I call this learning to think like a tapestry weaver.
I can’t give you one specific reference to teach you how to be a better designer. It comes with practice and quite a bit of “failure.” I often give students this blog post with a quote from Ann Patchett about being an artist.
Blog post: Crushing the Butterfly
My intention there is simply to remind you that even extremely successful artists struggle with their art. The best thing you can possibly do is to keep weaving. You’ll learn more with each piece you do. If you need some guidance to get started, I have two online classes to recommend. The first is a quarterly subscription with Gist Yarn called The Tapestry Discovery Box where we tackle a new technique and actually use it in a tapestry each quarter. The other is Summer of Tapestry which I run every year. In that class I encourage you to simplify your ideas and weave small sketch tapestries to explore something important to you.
If you’re ready to dive specifically into design, the Design Solutions classes are full of ideas of how to approach designing specifically for tapestry weaving. There are currently two of these, Season 1 and Season 2.
*What I call blue tape comes in many colors! Some of you in the Design Solutions course that is running live right now alerted me to this fact recently and sure enough, when I was in Home Depot yesterday they had “blue tape” in red and yellow. It is quite likely I will continue to call it blue tape.