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Tapestry
This is the technical stuff but read on, you may learn something you didn't know! Tapestry is a form of textile art. It goes back years and years and was traditionally woven on a vertical loom. It can also be woven on the floor loom and of course by hand. It basically means the composing of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length - this is called the warp, and those parallel to the width - this is called the Weft. The warp threads are setup under tension, pulled taut on a loom. The weft threads are then passed back and forth across part or all of the warp threads.
In this way the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike cloth weaving where both the warp and the weft threads are visible. The Artisan interlaces each coloured weft back and forth in its own pattern area. Many different threads of all colours are worked over portions of the warp to form the design.
Most weavers use naturally-based threads such as linen or cotton. The weft threads are usually made out of wool or cotton but may include silk, gold, silver, or any other fine threads. There are hundreds of shades of tapestry yarn and this can make for some very intricately toned tapestries, often hard to distinguish from paintings.
Tapestry kits on the high street are readily available but can be quite expensive to buy, but the hours of enjoyment that can be had from creating a tapestry from start to finish is priceless. Smaller and much more portable than the traditionally woven wool hanging tapestries, small pictures can be made from tapestries or needlepoint and are extremely popular today.
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