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

Arriving in Iceland

Arriving in Iceland

The Textile Center in Blonduos, Iceland has an artist residency for fiber artists. I have wanted to make my own trip here since my colleague Cornelia Theimer Gardella started coming here for residencies in 2015. I wasn’t sure the residency would happen until not long before we left because of covid, but I am now in Iceland. I’m currently watching the ice float by on the river Blanda and contemplating some designs to turn Icelandic fleece into small tapestries.

I flew into Reykjavik of course and had a couple days in the city before getting a bus north about 150 miles to Blonduos. Reykjavik feels walkable and fairly small though I realize this is just because they have a defined city center and there are extensive suburbs. I enjoyed walking the path along the harbor and watching the Esja massif across the water in the changing light.

Iceland, Here I Come! Icelandic Textile Center art residency

Iceland, Here I Come! Icelandic Textile Center art residency

I have been planning this for about a year and have kept it mostly to myself for all of that time which can be difficult for me. I didn’t know if Covid would allow me to actually go. But I’ll be heading to the Textile Center in Blönduós, Iceland soon. I’m going to be working with Icelandic wool and ways to use it for tapestry weaving.

When you can only bring a very small amount of stuff for a residency that feels quite long, the challenges of packing compound. I am that person who wants to have all options available at all times and it is clear that that is not possible in this case. I get one checked bag and though I could pay for another, I really don’t want to find myself struggling through Reykjavik and onto various busses with more luggage than I can really handle myself. One suitcase, one backpack. Thus begins the task of choosing…

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Shed Stick UPDATE! More options for your small-loom tapestry weaving

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Shed Stick UPDATE! More options for your small-loom tapestry weaving

I wrote a post a couple months ago about using shed sticks which included the few options that I could find readily available. Since then I’ve had several updates to the shed stick situation and I now have a healthy list of great options. I am quite sure there are more great tools out there. Here I was focusing on makers who have their work in stock all the time or at least with good consistency.* These are all US makers, but there are woodworkers all over the world and I am sure there are small tool makers in your neighborhood also if you do not live in the US.

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Archie Brennan: Tapestry as Modern Art

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Archie Brennan: Tapestry as Modern Art

This new book about Archie Brennan (1931-2019) and his life as a tapestry weaver is a wonderful mix of Archie’s voice and art, images of his work, and thoughts of his friends and colleagues. I heard rumors this book was happening many years ago and have been hoping they were true for a long time. I have not been disappointed. This book has far exceeded my expectations. Brenda Osborn has taken what has to be a rich collection of Archie’s spoken and written words and created a wonderful picture of an artist who had a huge influence on the trajectory of a very old art form, tapestry weaving. The book is by Archie Brennan, but the second author, noted as “with Brenda Osborn” deserves a standing ovation for her crafting of this masterpiece.

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Messing around with looms and yarn, Part 2

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Messing around with looms and yarn, Part 2

Who else is a loom geek? I really enjoy trying out different pieces of equipment and though I’d love to try every large tapestry loom, mostly I’m testing small looms that I have the space for (or not!). Last week I talked about this new-to-me loom I’m playing with from weaversbazaar in the UK. I’ve had a wonderful time picking the shed and trying out the WB heavy 5/2 wool. You can read about that HERE. I wanted to share a bit more about the clamps that are holding the loom and try them with a couple other looms I like.*

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Messing around with looms and yarn: playing with wool and wood

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Messing around with looms and yarn: playing with wool and wood

I’m constantly experimenting with tools and yarn and techniques in tapestry weaving. It gives me a lot of joy and though the outcomes of these experiments is sometimes unpleasing, the process is always educational and more ideas surprise me with their success than not. Lately I’ve been working on a loom that weaversbazaar in the UK sells. It is a simple tensioned frame made by Andrew Dickinson.*

The beauty of a tensioned frame loom.

Tension is the friend of a tapestry weaver. At least it is for me. I do know some tapestry weavers who love a floppy warp and who weave very large things on wooden non-tensioned frames that have nails on the edges. I admire their ability to manage the weave with non-tensioned equipment at such a large size! But for me, a loom with some tensioning ability is the best.

Yarn and color: using yarn color cards made with actual yarn

Yarn and color: using yarn color cards made with actual yarn

If I had an Olympic-level talent, I think we could all agree it would it is for collecting yarn that might be useful for tapestry weaving. I justify this to both myself and the IRS as an exceptionally important teaching tool. If I have some idea of at least some of the commercially available yarns out there that work well for tapestry, I can pass that information on to my students which makes them more successful in their learning.

One thing I love to have in front of me when evaluating a potential material is color cards made with actual yarn. Many companies use printed color cards and it is impossible to really know what color that yarn is until you order some of the it. In tapestry weaving, the color of the yarn matters a great deal and so yarn cards are a fantastic tool if they’re available.

I had the idea for this post when Gist Yarn sent me these beauties with their new Array tapestry yarn. These may be the most beautiful yarn cards I’ve ever seen. Turns out they do these for all of their signature yarns.