Introduction to Hand Woven Tapestry

The ancient art of tapestry weaving is enjoying a revival. Ancient Incan, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Chinese cultures used tapestry as burial shrouds, to adorn clothing, and as decorative wall coverings. Contemporary tapestry weaving continues to play a vital role as a decorative, functional, and expressive art form. In this class, you will learn the basics of how to create imagery with wool yarn using a simple tapestry loom. You will learn how to warp your loom and weave a tiny tapestry from start to finish. There will also be an introduction to the tapestry design process so you can work on another pattern for your next at-home project. Anyone interested in learning the foundation skills of tapestry weaving is encouraged to attend. If you’ve never touched a loom in your life, this class is for you. If you are an experienced handweaver, you will discover a new way to enjoy your loom.

Note: images in the photo gallery are examples of where the introductory workshop can take you. The actual class project is a 5 X 5 skills sample.

Skills and Techniques:

• Warping a tapestry loom
• How to weave the basic shapes needed to weave nearly any design: square, triangle, curve, and circle.
• Basic principles or cartoon design (the pattern used for a tapestry)
• Introduction to various finishing techniques

Materials Fee: $40 paid directly to the instructor. Includes a loom that the student keeps and all supplies needed for the class.

Special Tools or Equipment: None are required but experienced weavers are welcome to bring along favorite fiber scissors or tapestry tools.

Please be sure to read our 2025 policies before you register for a workshop which can be found here Workshop Policies