Choosing Yarns for Tapestry: Weft

 

4 oz cones of Array from Gist yarns

I talked about warp yarns for tapestry in a previous post. Now it’s time to dig into weft yarns.

What to look for in a weft yarn? Much the same as a warp yarn, actually. A strong yarn that can hold up to heavy beating and tension. That’s the short answer. A longer version concerns the construction of the yarn and fiber content. Yarns for weft in tapestry can be made out of various fibers: wool, cotton, bamboo, linen, paper, nettle, and the list goes on. But because I primarily use wool, that’s what I’m going to focus on in this post.

Since wool comes from sheep and different breeds have different qualities, it’s worth mentioning that the longer the staple a breed has, the better for tapestry it will be. In addition, the processing method is important, too. Longer staple wools are combed along with carding (worsted)  so make for a more compact, stronger, and tightly twisted yarn. This is what gives it the additional strength we look for in a tapestry yarn.

Of course, we don’t always know what breed of sheep or processing method was involved, do we? I’m going to share the tapestry yarns that I’ve used personally followed by yarns suggested and used by others. These are the same yarns I talked about in the IGLive video tour last month.

Single Ply wool

 I have used Brown Sheep yarns, both Lamb’s Pride and Lanaloft, in my beginning classes.  These yarns are thicker, single ply yarns, that work well for those just learning the basic techniques. They are widely available and work well as a single strand at 8EPI or doubled with wider setts.  Another yarn I’ve seen used quite often for beginning tapestry is Harrisville Highland not a single ply.

 I have not had a chance to use Churro yarns yet, but it’s on the top of my list to try. I mentioned it in my ATA talk on weft yarns and got an overwhelming response in the comments for suggestions on where to purchase (see below).

Weavers Bazaar Fine weft bundles

Finer Wools for weft bundling 

Combining 2 or more strands of yarn to create the weft opens up many more options for a tapestry weaver. Bundling wefts together can create subtle color blends and value changes, resulting in the possibility of more color choices with less colors.

Faro

Faro (6/1), with 74 colors to choose from, is the first true tapestry yarn I got my hands on. When I bought my first true tapestry loom (Zeuss from Mirrix) the company was also selling starter packs of Faro. I fell in love with it. It’s got a rustic quality about it that appeals to me. Faro is a single ply yarn from Borgs, in Sweden. I usually use 3 strands at 8 EPI with 12/9 Cotton Seine Twine. It’s a little thicker than some of the others I’ll be mentioning. 

Mora and Faro in comparison

Another weft yarn of similar quality I’m seeing used a lot from students in my Elements class is Frid, also on my list to try. In addition, Weavers Bazaar comes in a heavy weight (5/2) and two medium weights (9.5/2and 7.5/2). More on Weavers Bazaar below.

Three weights from Weavers Bazaar

Still Finer Yarns

Mora 

Mora (20/2), also from Borgs, was the next yarn that I began to use. It’s much finer and smoother than Faro and I’ve bundled 5 strands at 8EPI. There are many beautiful greens in Mora (my weakness), but the colors are more muted; not bright- with few light shades. It comes in 51 colors.

EPiC

When I discovered EPiC (2/18) yarns, I was a pretty happy camper. Similar to Mora in the number of strands I could bundle; 5 at 8EPI. What I especially love about EPiC is that it has a wonderful color palette with a lot of lighter hues, something I found missing in both Mora and Faro. It also comes in 106 colors to choose from!

Weavers Bazaar

And speaking of lighter tones and a wider range of colors, I come to Weavers Bazaar. I’ve recently become very familiar with this yarn since it is the yarn I chose to weave my Waterline piece in. This yarn comes from the UK and seems to be hugely popular among tapestry weavers. It comes in several weights. I’ve been bundling 7 strands of the Fine (18/2) at 8EPI. And probably could have added one or two more. Beautiful blues and greens! It is the “smoothest“ of any of the tapestry yarns I have tried thus far. I am loving the blends. Weavers Bazaar is a great company (great newsletter, too) and owned by tapestry weavers.

Array

Array (2/12, pictured above) is the new kid on the block, but a pretty special one. I’ve only just begun to sample with it. But that’s only because I haven’t had the time set aside yet. It is the first thing I’ll be doing once Waterline is finished. Array currently comes in 76 hues, with plans already in the works to add more. The sample I have on the loom right now is at 8EPI with 5 strands. It’s from “sheep raised on ranches in the western United States, and spun and dyed in North Carolina.” Another great tapestry yarn from another great company! And they have the most beautiful color cards I’ve ever seen!

Vavstuga packages their yarn samples in these ingenious “Yarn-in-a-Jar” - available for most, if not all, yarns they sell, including cottons and linens.

Others worth noting…

From the same company as Faro and Mora, I’ve heard good things about Tuna (6/2), too. 

I do have a few tubes of ALV, a Norwegian yarn sold by Kathe Todd-Hooker. I like it. It reminds me a little of EPiC but I haven’t used it enough to add any notes here. (A note below likens it to Array in similarity.)

I have not tried Anahera, which is available from Elizabeth Buckley. 

Appleton and Paternayan Crewel: I have no experience with either of these, either; see comments below.

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Sources…

In the ATA Media Tour (and above) I focused on the yarns I know and use - and asked for suggestions in the comments for resources along with the audience’s favorite sett combinations. I thought I would be able to go back later to read them but was surprised to learn the comments didn’t transfer over with the video recording.

That’s where the little fairy on my shoulder comes in. Thank you, Anna (@arztfeed) for having the presence of mind to take screen shots and then for sharing them with me. There were many resources, suggestions and comments! I’m including a few of them below; feel free to add your own favorites in the comments below this post.

Other notes, sett suggestions…

Array is similar to ALV, - from Tommye (@bittersweettapestrystudio)

Array sett suggestions: 

5 strands array, 8 EPI, 12 seine twine- Tommye (@bittersweettapestrystudio)

@Ginnyweaves - 4 strands array at 8 epic

4 strands of Array 10 EPI- also noted it to be softer than WB so hard to compare-@janetaustintapestry

Mora- lustrous, hard, no air! -(@janetaustintapestry)

Frid-  6 EPI - Tommye (@bittersweettapestrystudio)

Appleton- 3 to 4 strands 10 EPI- Jo Morasco (@jomorasco); she also mixes Paternayan Crewel and Appleton; Source: sew exciting

Paternayan: Florilegium (@murraywendy)

Aubusson House Fibers was also mentioned and

Patti (@patikart) mentioned Maiwa in Vancouver, BC, as a great source for Honest Yarns, glorious linen that she loves using combined with my bobbin blends

 
tapestry yarnsKennita Tullyweft yarns2 Comments