(UPDATED 11-21-21)
The number of online courses I offer has expanded in recent years and it can be hard to know which one might be the best for you to start with. There are descriptions for each of these courses on my website including trailer videos, just follow the links. Below is a list of the courses I’m currently offering and then a few tips on how to choose.
Warp and Weft: Learning the Structure of Tapestry
Weaving Tapestry on Little Looms
Introduction to Tapestry Weaving
Color Gradation Techniques for Tapestry
Fringeless: Four Selvedge Warping with Sarah C. Swett (produced by Rebecca Mezoff)
Design Solutions for the Artist/Weaver, Season 1
Design Solutions for the Artist/Weaver, Season 2
The video below gives a summary of all the courses except for the Design Solutions courses and the brand new in fall 2021 Introduction to Tapestry Weaving.
Are you new to tapestry weaving?
I have three courses intended for beginners: Warp and Weft and Weaving Tapestry on Little Looms.
Introduction to Tapestry Weaving: This course is an introduction to tapestry techniques. It was intended to help you figure out if you too will fall in love with tapestry. You’ll learn the basic techniques and principles of this medium and you’ll practice them in four different projects. This course comes with a discount for the full price of the class ($39) off of any version of Warp and Weft so if you love it, you get your money back and you can keep learning in a more comprehensive course.
Warp and Weft: This is a comprehensive techniques course. It is like taking a college semester-long course in tapestry weaving. It includes all the information you need to get started in tapestry including information about looms and materials. This is the course that has important tips about the most problematic issues for new tapestry weavers such as warping and weft tension. Some versions of the course also come with real-time help and troubleshooting from me.*
Weaving Tapestry on Little Looms: This course is intended as a fun introduction to tapestry weaving using small lap-style looms. I do include some information about using table top looms (the Mirrix), but the course is arranged around use of smaller looms like THIS.** It is a much shorter course than Warp and Weft but it will get you started!
You are confident in the basic techniques, so what next?
If you have the basic techniques of warping, materials choice, meet and separate, fixing sheds, hatching, angles, curves, outlines, pick and pick, vertical lines, joins, cartoon use, troubleshooting, and finishing along with many tips that come with each of these challenges, then consider one of these intermediate courses.
Color Gradation Techniques for Tapestry: This course is another techniques course. There is a short video about color theory, but the focus is on learning more advanced techniques and how to move color in your designs. This course comes in two versions. The full course comes with the ability to ask me questions and get feedback. The self-directed version is the same material without the ability to ask me questions.
Design Solutions for the Artist/Weaver, Season 1: Once you’ve mastered the basics of tapestry weaving, you’re faced with how to design and use color effectively. Though design principles in art have some universal ideas, applying those to tapestry weaving can present some challenges. This course works through design challenges alongside interviews with tapestry weavers from around the world about their design practice.
Design Solutions for the Artist/Weaver, Season 2: In this class we continue the explorations we started in Season 1. The structure is the same but the material is all new. I do recommend you take the two seasons in order as I assume you have experienced the design and color principles in Season 1 as I teach Season 2.
Interested in a very fun warping technique with a master tapestry artist?
Fringeless: Four-selvedge warping: Sarah C. Swett is a creator of magic. She and I produced a course about four-selvedge warping for tapestry weaving which is full of precise instructions about how to manage this sort of warping and also contains a lot of fun extras including some video of Sarah weaving. Four-selvedge warping in the Fringeless style means that you set up a special sort of warp and then when the piece comes off the loom, all four sides are finished. This method of warping uses two supplemental warps which allows the weaver to have a full shed during the entire weaving experience. This is a very different way of weaving from the four-selvedge style the Navajo and a few other traditions use where the shed gets smaller and smaller until you’re weaving with a needle at the end.
How does the online format work?
I have lots of information on my website under FAQ about how online courses work. But it might be helpful to know that you can Preview the steps in each course which will give you a better idea of the content. The courses are hosted on a platform called Pathwright (as in, building a path). Navigate from the library to the course you’re interested in and look for the Preview button in the center of the screen. On the FAQ pages, note the menu to the left with multiple topics.
Explore the content in an online course by clicking the Preview button in Pathwright.
Rebecca Mezoff, Emergence I, 48 x 48 inches. Plus a bunch of hand-dyed tapestry yarn for another project.
Why would you take an online course in tapestry?
Online courses are a great way to learn a slow art like tapestry weaving. It takes time to absorb the information and even more time to practice the skills. Taking an online course means you can spend a bit of time on each thing you’re learning and really understand and practice it before moving on. This is something that isn’t possible in a workshop at a conference or through your guild. Many people find my courses and they’ve never taken an online course before. This can seem a little scary to jump into the technology world so suddenly, but you’ll get lots of support to understand how the technology works. And if you can navigate social media platforms or even just run basic internet searches in your browser, you can find your way around the Pathwright program.
The courses are all video-based with supplemental handouts and places to ask questions. All the material and interaction is contained in the course platform. THIS page gives you a better idea about that.
Do you need feedback from a teacher?
Some people do really well learning and evaluating their work on their own. These people do well in my self-directed courses. If you’re someone who wants feedback on your work along with tips in response to your efforts as you go along, two of my courses offer this interaction. Warp and Weft and Color Gradation Techniques have versions in which I answer questions. In Weaving Tapestry on Little Looms and Fringeless, I do not answer questions on any sort of schedule though I encourage you to always ask questions and your fellow students can assist. I monitor all questions and I will jump in if you’re really stuck! I won’t leave you hanging and I certainly don’t want anyone to get frustrated.
Rebecca Mezoff, tapestry weaving. This tapestry is woven with the Fringeless four-selvedge method taught in an online course by Sarah C. Swett and Rebecca Mezoff (https://rebeccamezoff.com/fringeless). The weaving techniques are taught in Warp and Weft and Weaving Tapestry on Little Looms.
If you’d like more information about tapestry weaving, consider signing up for my free weekly newsletter, Tapestry Picks.
What questions do you have about my online courses? Put them in the comments!
*Warp and Weft is currently available in three versions. The Full Course includes all the information and comes with my time. I answer questions in this course 5 days a week within about 24 hours. It is available for a bargain price in the Self-Directed version. This is the identical course without the ability to ask me questions. And finally, you can purchase it in three parts (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3) which also includes help from me. The course is offered this way as a sort of payment plan. The downside of taking the course broken up this way is that you don’t have access to things in the upcoming parts at the beginning (troubleshooting and finishing information is all in Part 3 for example).
**If you have questions about looms, there are many blog posts about them to help you choose. You can find all those posts in the category Looms on my blog HERE.