Why Tapestry Yarn Is Different

Walk into any good yarn shop and you will find shelves of soft, bouncy, variegated yarns that are wonderful for knitting a jumper and hopeless for tapestry. Tapestry is a weft-faced weave: the weft packs down and covers the warp entirely, which means every metre of yarn you use is on show, and that yarn has to hold up under tension while being beaten firmly into place with a comb. That changes the brief considerably.

Three qualities matter above all. The yarn should be sturdy, so it resists abrasion as you pull it back and forth through the warp. It should be matte, because shine flattens the subtle shading that tapestry does so well. And it should be consistent in thickness, since a slub or a thin patch will read as an unwanted stripe across an otherwise smooth block of colour. Get those three right and the rest is a matter of matching the fibre to the effect you want.

Start with Wool

For most weavers, wool is the natural first choice, and it has been for centuries. It takes dye deeply, has enough natural elasticity to spring back after beating, and its slightly grippy surface means the weft locks together rather than slipping out of line. It also has a gentle surface bloom that softens the joins between colours — exactly what you want when you are blending two shades in a gradient.

Look for worsted-spun wool, in which the fibres are combed parallel before spinning. This gives a smooth, firm, fairly dense yarn that holds its shape and shows crisp edges in geometric work. Woollen-spun yarns are airier and fuzzier; they blur detail but blend colour beautifully, so they suit landscape and pictorial pieces. British breeds such as Bluefaced Leicester, Wensleydale and Shetland all work well, and traditional tapestry wools sold in small skeins are usually a fine two-ply designed for the job.

The one caveat: wool felts slightly when rubbed. That is usually helpful in tapestry, but it does mean you should keep your warp tension even and avoid working a length of yarn up and down the same spot too many times.

Cotton: Clean Lines and Crisp Colour

Cotton is the opposite temperament — inelastic, obedient and cool. Because it has almost no stretch, it does not bounce back after beating, so it packs down hard and gives you very clean, sharp edges. That makes it excellent for geometric designs, lettering, fine detail and anything that needs to be washed or will hang in a damp room.

Choose unmercerised cotton where you can. Mercerised cotton has a sheen that catches the light and can make a wall hanging look glassy; unmercerised cotton, sometimes sold as matte cotton, has the flat surface tapestry wants. Perle cottons in the thicker sizes are a popular choice, and they come in a good range of clear, saturated colours.

Be aware of the drawbacks. Cotton is heavy, so a large piece will pull on its hanging rod. It is harder on the hands than wool, and it has no give, which means uneven beating shows up immediately. It is also unforgiving of a stretched warp.

Linen: Strength with Rustic Character

Linen is the strongest of the three and actually gets stronger when wet. It is stiff, has virtually no elasticity, and packs down into a dense, dry, slightly chalky surface with a soft natural lustre. Its character is rustic rather than refined, which suits simple shapes, natural dye palettes and pieces with a deliberately hand-made feel.

Linen is more often used as a warp than a weft, and excellent at it — a good linen warp will hold tension for years. As a weft it can be hard on the hands and will abrade a soft warp, so pair it with a firm warp of its own kind. Natural linen has slubs and slight variations in thickness; if you want consistent blocks of colour, look for a smoother, combed linen instead.

Blends, Substitutes and What to Avoid

A blend can solve a specific problem. A little silk in a wool yarn adds a controlled gleam for highlights; wool and cotton together lighten the finished weight; linen and cotton make a hard-wearing yarn for outdoor or kitchen pieces. Use them deliberately rather than by accident.

What to avoid is easier to list:

• Anything fluffy or haloed — mohair, eyelash, brushed alpaca. The fuzz obscures the weave and muddles colour.
• Acrylic and other synthetics, which shine, pill and squeak against the warp.
• Superwash wool, which is treated to be slick and will slide out of line.
• Variegated, self-striping and ribbon yarns, unless you genuinely want stripes.
• Very fine yarn on a wide sett. If you can see warp between your passes, the yarn is too thin for your warp spacing.

Testing Before You Commit

Buy one skein first and weave a sample about ten centimetres square, using the sett and the beating rhythm you intend for the real piece. Then put it through its paces. Wash it gently and lay it flat to dry to check for shrinkage, colour bleeding and any change in handle. Rub a length between your fingers fifty times to see whether it pills. Pull a strand back and forth through the warp a few dozen times to judge abrasion.

Finally, work out your quantities honestly. A weft-faced tapestry swallows yarn — count on roughly three to five times the surface area of the finished piece, more if you pack tightly or use a thick weft. Buy it all at once and note the dye batch, because a different batch of the same shade will show. Store the surplus somewhere moth-proof, and label it. Wool especially has a habit of disappearing quietly in a cupboard.