Tapestry Weaving
Rebecca Mezoff
Testing out the Duet tapestry beater from ...

It is no secret that I love my tapestry forks/beaters with metal tines. Many people make them with dog combs. The metal tines slide through the warp easily and if the handles are shaped well, they provide a nice snap for work on tapestries large or small.

Over the years I’ve purchased many tapestry forks from Magpie Woodworks, Thomas Creations (Threads Thru Time), and Timber and Twine. These are beautiful hand-crafted tools and every tapestry weaver should have at least one of these in their toolbox.

But I have had so many students who were unable to get one of these forks or had to wait many months just because when a tool is hand-made one at a time, it takes a long time to produce them and more people want them than can get them.

Testing out the Duet tapestry beater from Schacht

cartoons

Tapestry cartoons

I (egocentrically) always assumed that everyone did tapestry cartoons like I did.  But recent discussions on the tapestry list seem to indicate that some people even weave tapestry without (gasp) a cartoon.  I aspire to this level of freedom, but doubt my somewhat controlled personality will allow me to get there any time soon.  Here are some photos of my cartoon process taken while I was working on Emergence II earlier this year.

I draw the initial design fairly small and then bring it to a photocopy place that makes blueprints to enlarge.  They can get at least one dimension any size I want (and both dimensions if I keep my initial drawing in proportion).  Then I transfer it to acetate (sometimes--sometimes I just use the paper... but have to remember to reverse the design as I weave from the back!  Acetate you can just flip over before transferring it to the warp).

Drawing the design in two colors (so I can keep track of which part of the design is which) on the acetate.

Then I transfer the lines to the warp.  This has to be done repeatedly while weaving as the warp advances.

Here the tapestry is finished by still on the loom with the cartoon hanging behind it.


And eventually you have a new tapestry!
Emergence II
Rebecca Mezoff
45 x 45 inches; hand-dyed wool tapestry

Now if I had only gotten the next cartoon ready before the day before New Year's Eve.  It seems that the two copy shops I have used to blow up cartoons are closed until Monday January 3rd.  This will inhibit my beginning a new tapestry unless I can screw up my courage and enlarge my drawing freehand.