Rebecca Mezoff Blog — Rebecca Mezoff

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My favorite stories about wool

My favorite stories about wool

I have some book recommendations for you. This post was going to be about one book which just came out, Unraveling: What I Learned about Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World’s Ugliest Sweater by Peggy Orenstein. (It is clearly NOT the world’s ugliest sweater.)

And then just as I finished reading the book, I saw this marvelous review by Jillian Moreno on Modern Daily Knitting. And right then I decided I would let Jillian tell you about Unraveling and I would give you a list of my favorite books that tell stories about wool. I love every one of these books, have read them all more than once, and will likely read them again (okay, I haven’t read Peggy’s book a second time yet, but I just finished it… give me a few months). They’re all written by masterful writers in story-form. They’ll grab your attention and maybe even make you laugh or cry a little.

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No more floppy selvedges! This is the knot to use.

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No more floppy selvedges! This is the knot to use.

There are only a few things that I’d say regularly frustrate new tapestry weavers and one of them is the final knot on the warping bar of a continuously warped tapestry loom. If that last knot doesn’t hold tightly, then your edge selvedge will be loose which affects your weaving. Using a double half-hitch knot allows you to adjust the tension on that last warp with a knot that will hold.

Continuous warping

What does that mean? A continuous warp is one which wraps around the outside of a tensioned frame loom. Some common examples of this type of loom are the Schacht Arras and most Mirrix looms. These looms use a warping bar. The bar gives you a place to tie the beginning and ending warp securely as well as a rigid structure to help you turn the tapestry around the loom without distorting it. This type of loom can produce a tapestry that is longer than the loom is high.

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Tapestry weaving on a budget

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Tapestry weaving on a budget

Historically tapestry weaving was a trade. In the middle ages (and even through present times), weavers were skilled technicians weaving large designs created usually by painters. Today tapestry weaving has become an art form that is often practiced at smaller scales by people who are designing and weaving their own work.

Tapestry has a wealthy past as patrons funded the workshops that wove those large tapestries for their castles and country homes. Today tapestry weaving can be for everyone.

It is true that purchasing equipment and materials for any new art form can be pricey. There are many tapestry looms for sale that for many people are just too expensive to consider. And tapestry yarns can also feel out of reach when you have to purchase large amounts in many colors. But there are less expensive ways to find the materials and equipment needed.