Tapestry Start to Finish
Below is a MRR and PLR article in category Home Family -> subcategory Interior Design.
Tapestry: From Start to Finish
A Journey Through Weaving History
Tapestries, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, are heavy cloths adorned with intricate, often colorful designs or scenes. Traditionally, they grace walls as decorative art and occasionally serve as upholstery. Unlike needlepoint, which is stitched onto canvas, true tapestry is woven on a loom.
The Origins of Weaving
Weaving finds its origins in ancient basketry, which utilized stiff fibers. The invention of the loom revolutionized the craft by enabling the use of flexible fibers. This device keeps the lengthwise warp strands taut, allowing the crosswise weft strands to be woven in.
A significant early depiction of weaving dates back to a pottery dish from an Egyptian tomb, dated 4400 BC. This artifact illustrates a basic loom with pegs in the ground to hold the warp threads. By the Eighteenth Dynasty (1567 to 1320 BC), a more advanced loom, akin to today's tapestry loom, emerged in Egypt. Similar looms are still employed by the Navajo Indians.
Evolution of the Loom
Looms remained largely unchanged until the eighteenth century when innovations?"mostly in England?"began to mechanize the process. The Industrial Revolution nearly rendered hand weaving obsolete, but it survived in various parts of the world as an artisan craft. With renewed interest in handcrafts, people turned to weavers in Scandinavia, Tennessee, and British rural areas to revive the ancient art. Today, hand weaving is pursued more for passion than profit.
The Weaving Process
The fundamentals of weaving have endured through time. The process involves three key actions: making the shed, picking, and beating. The warp serves as the foundation of the cloth, while the weft is woven in to create the design. Warp threads are raised alternately to pass the shuttle carrying the weft, creating the gap known as the shed. Each row of weft is called a pick, and beating ensures it is even and snug against previous picks.
The warp endures significant tension and should be made from strong fibers. When planning dimensions, it's crucial to allow about ten percent extra width to accommodate the inward pull at the selvedges, formed by the weft turning around the outer warp ends. Proper preparation and placement of warp threads on the loom are essential.
Techniques in Tapestry Weaving
Tapestry weaving involves unique techniques where color areas are filled in one by one, leaving slits in the fabric that are stitched later. If the tapestry is hung vertically, these slits might remain open.
The design, or "cartoon," is prepared by an artist on paper and serves as a blueprint for the weaver. In modern mechanized tapestry production, the artist creates a full-sized painting of the intended piece. A technical design is then crafted, showing each stitch of the weft. Electronic equipment translates this into a punched card for the jacquard loom.
Tapestries: From Past to Present
The exquisite tapestries found in cathedrals, palaces, and museums were meticulously woven by hand. Some were commissioned by royalty, others by artists, and some by modestly compensated workers. The portability of decorative tapestries allowed noblemen to transport them between residences and churches to display them during special occasions.
Today, tapestries continue to beautify spaces as wall hangings or cushions. Regardless of how they are used, tapestries can become cherished family heirlooms, preserving a rich history of art and craftsmanship.
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