Making a Mini Tapestry

Yesterday I attended the first half of a two-part mini-tapestry workshop at Yarns Unlimited, a local treasure on the square in Bloomington Indiana. Surrounded by beautiful fibers and examples of completed projects was a bit distracting, as beautiful items caught my eye—but so inspiring!

The course description sounded much like needleweaving, so I signed up, hoping to learn more about weaving and pick up some tips on instruction. I wasn't disappointed.

Suzanne Halvorson's informal and informative teaching style put everyone at ease, and convinced us that we would all end up with a nice little tapestry—eventually. Patience is required, but the process somehow restores those reserves of patience.

While the weaving itself was familiar, the loom set up was not. This photo shows the start of my little tapestry next to a warped necklace I'm using in a Needleweaving Tutorial. My method strings the warp on the face of the board, using pins to hold the thread.

Here's how the thread is wrapped around a Foam-Core board for the tapestry warp.

The new method has some advantages. No pins to catch the weaving fibers (or prick from the underside), and finer detail is possible. Needleweaving uses one warp thread per quarter inch; the mini tapestry uses three. The result in scale is like the difference between needlepoint and petitpoint. Strangely, it doesn't seem take three times longer to weave.

Despite the pins, my usual technique has a few plusses. It's fun to incorporate beads, different shapes can be created and beating the fibers tight is easier. So I won't abandon my old ways, but will likely weave a few new ideas and methods into my future work.

At the end of the two-hour session, our warps were strung and we'd all begun weaving. We'd learned how to add and end threads, change colors, and create some different effects. I relearned how fun it is to be with others who share my interest in weaving. The completed Mini Tapestry will be the bonus.