The thrill of color.

Bring life and movement to your tapestry weaving. Translate your yarn stash into beautifully woven tapestries. 

Using tapestry techniques to blend color is an important characteristic of tapestry weaving. Learn how with Color Gradation Techniques for Tapestry.

Color Gradation Techniques for Tapestry teaches you to create optical effects using tapestry techniques such as…

• Hatching

• Hachure

• Pick and pick

We also play with blending colors in the weft bundle to create the illusion of transparency or create new colors from the optical effects of color mixing.

The techniques taught in this course are specific to the medium of tapestry weaving. 

Color in tapestry weaving is unique. Yarn colors do not blend like colors of paint or dye and due to the weft-faced structure of tapestry, color mixing is also different than in other forms of weaving where the warp shows.

The course is divided into six parts:

1. Color Theory Basics and Weft Yarns for Tapestry

2. Irregular Hatching

3. Hachure

4. Transparency Effects

5. Pick and pick

6. Vertical Gradations

Color Gradation Techniques for Tapestry teaches different techniques you can use to blend your yarns so you can bring the effects you see in your mind's eye to life in your tapestry.

What does Color Gradation Techniques include?

• Extensive video teaching. All techniques are demonstrated, often in a couple different ways. All the videos are pre-recorded and ready for you as soon as you sign up. You can also pause, rewatch, speed up, or slow down the videos so you never miss a thing. 

• Printable PDF handouts with exercise instructions, diagrams for the techniques, photographic examples, and design ideas to try.

• Troubleshooting help: videos and handouts explain common tapestry weaving problems you might encounter and demonstrate how to fix or avoid them.

• Lively discussion with fellow students all over the world helps clarify potential problems and solutions as well and share more general understanding of tapestry practice.

• Continued bonus material throughout the class created by me in response to your particular questions.

• Personalized Feedback: the opportunity to submit photos of your progress, problems as you have them, and questions. From your photos I am also able to give you feedback on something you may not see as a problem yet and show you how to fix it before it becomes obvious and frustrating. And most importantly, you will get feedback about what you are doing that is successful. (Please note: personalized feedback is not included in the Self-Directed version of Color Gradation.)

• (Optional) Invitation to a secret Facebook group where students in the program and those who have graduated can continue to connect over a virtual cup of tea. This is completely optional.

• Any-time access to the material for as long as you need it. You own the course and can return to it months or years from now.

WHO THIS COURSE IS FOR

• People who have a basic understanding of how tapestry weaving works

• People who wants to increase their knowledge about ways to move and grade color using yarn in tapestry technique

• People who have a commitment to practicing their weaving

• People who benefit from a structured outline of learning activities to achieve their own unique outcomes.

• People who want to give themselves the gift of time to advance their tapestry skills

What materials do I need for Color Gradation Techniques?

We will cover everything you need in the course, but here’s an overview:

• A loom suitable for tapestry weaving

• Warp yarn. 12/6 or 12/9 cotton seine twine available from Eugene Textile Center or The Woolery.

• Weft yarn. Many different wefts are acceptable for this class.

• Scissors

• Tapestry fork (unless you’re a bobbin user, then carry on with your regular self)

• Sharpie marker for marking the warp

• Measuring tape

• Tapestry needle

• Thread for sewing slits

• (optional) for the final module on creating Vertical Gradations you may also want: masking tape, cardboard or mat board or folded index cards, Color Aid paper (entirely optional), paint chips (also entirely optional)

You can find more information about materials I recommend for tapestry weaving here.

Here are a few results you can expect from taking this course

• Develop an understanding of the tapestry techniques most often used to move color horizontally and vertically

• Learn a basic introduction to color theory

• Discussions of different kinds of tapestry yarn and why you might want to use one over the other

• See examples from the work of tapestry weavers past and present to illustrate the concepts you are learning

• Increase confidence in your tapestry weaving skills

• Connect with new tapestry weavers all over the world and the opportunity to continue those interactions after the course is over

• Receive encouragement and a framework within which to practice!

How the course is presented and what it costs

There are two ways you can take the course:

1. Complete course
   
   Color Gradation Techniques: The Complete Course is the way to go if you want teacher feedback in addition to all the content. With this option you get all the material in one class. The course is divided into six parts, but they are all available to you immediately. You can work through it at your own pace and I will meet you wherever you are in the curriculum for teaching, feedback and troubleshooting. You also have the advantage of being able to skip ahead to videos presented later in the course.
   
   The price for Color Gradation Techniques: The Complete Course is $375.
   

2. Self-directed
   
   If you’re a self-directed learner who doesn’t want teacher feedback on your samples, this is the version for you. The content is all the same but with no teaching or discussion from me. You won't be able to submit images for feedback or ask me questions, but some people learn very well this way.
   
   The price for Color Gradation Techniques: Self-Directed is $250.

Course Catalog and Content

Here is a little summary of each part of the course:

1. Color Theory Basics and Weft Yarns for Tapestry: A basic introduction to color theory and a discussion of weft yarns available for tapestry (featuring yarns from a variety of countries including: the USA, Sweden, Norway, UK, and Australia).

2. Irregular Hatching: In this course we go in-depth with irregular hatching, including using hatching for shading and form creation. (For more on irregular hatching as a general technique, see: Warp and Weft: Learning the Structure of Tapestry.)

3. Hachure: Hachure, a traditional tapestry technique, was used a great deal in historic European tapestries and is still used by many people today. This class also offers tips on how to make straight lines and shallow curves smoother and how to start to minimize steps in your work.

4. Transparency Effects: This class talks about using regular hatching and weft bundling to create the illusion of transparency. Weft bundling is also an important concept for all color use in tapestry.

5. Pick and pick: In this class we take the pick and pick technique far into its use in color manipulation in tapestry and look at using pick and pick in shapes and for blending colors vertically. (This fun technique was initially introduced in Warp and Weft: Learning the Structure of Tapestry where we cover its more generalized uses.)

6. Vertical Gradation: This class will show you how to make smooth color shifts up your warp. We will also talk more about using value and hue in color grading and grading with stripes and demi-duite.

What is the difference between COLOR GRADATION TECHNIQUES and WARP AND WEFT?

Warp and Weft is the class for people who need to learn the in-depth basics of tapestry weaving. It teaches you a strong foundation and has all the information you need to know to be a successful tapestry weaver. Color Gradation Techniques is for weavers who have some experience with tapestry weaving and want to learn some more advanced techniques specifically for dealing with form and color.

In your tapestry weaving learning progression Color Gradation Techniques comes after you’ve laid the foundation with Warp and Weft. 

What happens after I register?

As soon as you register you will receive an email from Pathwright with a link to the class. You can go to the Pathwright class platform and start your class. If that email goes to your spam folder and you can't find it, push any registration button on this page or go HERE. Click the Sign In button on the top navigation bar and once you enter the password you created when you paid for the class, you will see your courses.

I hope to meet you online soon!

All my best,