A New Transparent Tapestry Sample

I finished a sample on my small copper pipe loom to test out a different warp yarn and finishing techniques.

It is a peony inspired by Frida Hansen’s Pioner (1901).

To begin, I wove a border of circles. If there is one long border at the bottom along the width of a tapestry, the weft thread is likely to sag down, and knots are needed to hold the edge in place. But with the small circles. the short sections are each fastened into place and the fringes can hang free without knots. I wove in a thin copper rod at the bottom, too. A small amount of added weight helps a small tapestry to hang nicely.

Here is the completed peony.

I added a corresponding copper rod at the top, after making loops over a piece of wood, to keep the lengths uniform.

I used Hillesvåg Embla yarn as warp. It was completely adequate for “stickiness.” It has a high twist, which is attractive. The colors are rich, so the background color is appealing. Still, the best warp yarn ever for the technique is found in the old pieces from Frida Hansen’s studio, handspun with variation in tone and thickness. As an example, Hansen’s Nellik og Hane transparency uses a dark blue warp, not so different from my sample here. But a close-up photo of that piece shows the liveliness of the warp with slight variations.

This is a fun tapestry journey. As I mull over what to put on my sample loom next, I am helping my 12-year-old granddaughter sew a Viking cape for her Viking camp coming up this summer. And we are woodburning rune symbols on wooden disks for necklace to trade at the Viking store. Suggestions of your favorite runic symbol are welcome!