The Art of Tapestry Weaving

Put aside those preconceptions of dusty, medieval tapestries hanging on castle walls! Tapestry weaving has a whole new look, and fiber enthusiasts of all levels are eager to try their hand at creating images with yarn. Rebecca Mezoff, a renowned teacher of contemporary tapestry weaving, shares her techniques in this in-depth guide to every aspect of the process, from developing a color palette to selecting yarn, warping the loom, and weaving the image. Crafters can choose from inexpensive tabletop and hand-held looms to larger floor looms. Detailed step-by-step photos and inspiring examples from a range of weaver-artists make this a one-stop resource for tapestry weaving how-to.

Rebecca Mezoff is the author of The Art of Tapestry Weaving. An award-winning weaver and nationally known teacher of tapestry weaving, she reaches thousands of students annually through her online courses, popular self-styled weaving retreats, and in-person workshops at Penland School of Craft, Convergence, and Red Alder Fiber Arts. Mezoff has been weaving tapestries for 15 years and her articles on the subject have appeared in the American Tapestry Alliance, Spin Off, Handwoven, and Fiber Art Now. She lives in Colorado.

Foreword
Introduction: Why Tapestry?
  Why Weave Tapestry?
  How to Be a Beginning Tapestry Weaver
  How to Use This Book
1 This Is Tapestry
  Stacked like Bricks
  What Tapestry Is Not
  Tapestry's Storied History
  Terms to Know
2 Looming Large (and Small)
  Characteristics of a Good Tapestry Loom
  Anatomy of a Tapestry Loom
  Types of Looms
  Choosing a Tapestry Loom
  Approaches to Weaving
  Additional Tools
3 Yearning for Yarn
  Fiber Common in Tapestry Yarns
  The Wonder of Wool
  Yarn Terminology
  Good Tapestry Yarns
  Choose an Anchor Yarn
  How Much Yarn?
  Other Yarn Considerations
4 Only the Warped Can Weave
  Why Warp Size Matters
  How Weft Size Influences Your Textile
  Sett Affects Image
  Tips for Warping Success
  Warp Length
  Warping Procedures
5 Learning to See Color
  You're Not "Bad" at Color
  Hue and the Color Wheel
  Color Harmonies
  Creating Your Own Color Palette
6 Let the Weaving Begin
  Parts of a Tapestry
  Using Shedding Devices
  Headers
7 Heading Off Trouble
  Bubbling's Effect on Weft Tension
  How the Loom and Beating Affect Your Selvages
8 Color Blending Magic
  Creating Color Illusions with Irregular Hatching
  Creating Forms with Stripes
  Hachures: Formalized Hatching
9 Closing Up the Holes
  Sewing Slits
  Weft Interlocks
  Warp Interlocks
  Using Hatching for Joins
10 Angling
  Straight Angles, Hills, and Valleys
  Using an Uneven Number of Sequences in Each Step
  Breaking Up Large Color Areas
11 Vertical Growth
  Pick and Pick
  Invisible Weft Sequence Join for Vertical Warp Wraps
  Cutting Off the Corners to Make Vertical Curves and Angles Smoother
  Other Ways to Make Vertical Lines
12 Designing
  Design vs. Cartoon
  Design Concepts
  Making a Cartoon
  Attaching the Cartoon
13 Curve Appeal
  Weaving One Shape at a Time
  Bottom to Top: Shape Order
  Smoothing Out the Steps
  Making Curved Vertical Shapes
  Circles
14 Outlining
  Weaving Eccentrically
  Eccentric Outlines
  Split Weft
15 Finish Up
  Final Cleanup
  Labeling Your Tapestry
  Conservation Considerations
  Appendices
  Knots
  Leashes
  Making Pipe Looms
Metric Conversions
Acknowledgments
Index