Off the Loom: A Tapestry Weaving Journey

I have worked with paper for years, and somewhere along the way I began weaving with it. Strips of handmade paper, over and under, creating texture and pattern.

I suppose it was only a matter of time before I wondered what would happen if I tried the real thing.

So I bought a loom.

This was one of my first tapestry weavings, and like most things I try, I really didn’t have the whole thing planned when I started.

I chose colors I liked — cream, charcoal, olive, rust and a soft blue-grey — and began weaving.

There is something very calming about the repetition. Over, under, over, under. Another row. Change the yarn. Try something different. Decide I don’t like it. Take a little out and try again.

And slowly, it becomes something.

That is probably the part I enjoy most.

When you are looking at all those separate balls of yarn, it is difficult to imagine exactly what they will become. But row by row the colors begin to work together, and eventually you realize you have made a piece of fabric with your own hands.

Taking it off the loom was both exciting and a little nerve-racking. While it is on the loom, it somehow still feels unfinished and changeable. Once it comes off, it is what it is.

I trimmed and brushed the fringe, finished the back and added a wooden dowel so it could hang on the wall.

Then I stood back and looked at it.

There are things I would probably do differently now. There always are. But I don’t mind that. Part of learning a new craft is being able to look at something you made and already be thinking about what you want to try next.

What I find especially interesting is that weaving doesn’t feel completely separate from my papermaking.

Paper weaving is what brought me here in the first place. The materials are different, but there is still that same simple movement of one thing passing over and under another and slowly becoming something more.

Paper was my beginning.

The loom has given me another way to play with fiber, color and texture.

And yes, there will definitely be another one.