Free Tapestry Weaving Projects and Guides

We love tapestry weaving for so many reasons. It allows you to paint with yarn, mixing colors as easily as a painter mixes oils on a palette. You can create depth and wonder in a flat surface, or add techniques such as soumak and pile that make your surface not-so-flat.

Tapestry can be almost photo-realistic, or it can be deeply evocative with the simplest shapes. You can weave tapestry on a fancy tapestry loom, on a simple wooden, copper, or PVC frame, or on a piece of cardboard. Tapestry weaving is easily portable, if you're not making an epic piece, and it gives the slow-weaving, fingers-in-the-warp, tactile satisfaction we love. The tapestry projects and tips in this free eBook cover a lovely array of weaving styles.

Inside you'll find:

• Geometry Man Tapestry by Karen Donde - Karen stumbled upon this design while designing a sample for her Certificate of Excellence. You'll learn to weave straight lines, curves, and diagonals, all with seamless weft joins.

• Set Your Body (and Your Loom) Free by Karen Piegorsch - Frame looms are popular among both tapestry weavers due to their portability, low cost, and ease of warping. Learn to use a painter's box easel to make a tapestry loom stand in this article.

• Weave a Tapestry Bag on a Box by Sarah Swett - Weaving on a box is immensely satisfying. You can take your time and play with blocks of color without fancy equipment.

• Wedge Weave in Miniature by Margaret Windeknecht - This article is an introduction to a very unique adaptation of an old tapestry weaving technique. It is done with cotton or linen fabric on an embroidery hoop, using cotton, silk, or wool floss wefts threaded in a tapestry needle. These miniature wedge-weave tapestries can be presented as framed artwork, dollhouse-scale handwovens, or even as small bits of jewelry.

• Postcards from the Field by Nancy Taylor - If you've ever wondered how to make your own tapestry in the traditional, photo-realistic style, this is the perfect place to start. This is a great travel or holiday tapestry project, since it's woven on a portable tapestry loom.