The work may be applied to all kinds of uses, such as coverings for furniture, mats, curtains, bell-pulls, book-covers, bags, boxes, and so forth. Anything that hangs upon a wall is particularly suitable for working in tapestry, for at a little distance this kind of work shows up more effectively than embroidered work does. A great many articles, such as alms-bags, frontals of all kinds, stoles and book-markers, for use in churches could most excellently be carried out in tapestry.
CHAPTER XVI
NECESSARY APPLIANCES AND MATERIALS
The Loom—Mirror—Bobbins and Needles—The Comb—Embroidery Frame treated as a Loom—Warp—Wools—Silk—Gold and Silver Thread.
TOOLS AND APPLIANCES
The chief requisite for weaving is the loom; this can be made by a carpenter from a working drawing. In the Victoria and Albert Museum there is a model of a small tapestry loom, presented by William Morris, which a novice will do well to examine. It is quite possible to carry out a small piece of weaving upon an embroidery frame, but to work in a loom which has all the proper appliances is always quicker, better, and absolutely necessary with work of any size.
There are two main varieties of tapestry loom, one in which the warp-threads are horizontal, and another in which they are vertical. The latter kind is considered to give the best results, mainly owing to the possibility of the worker's seeing the right side of the work whilst it is in progress. This is a great advantage, for tapestry is woven with the reverse side towards the worker, and progresses by such gradual steps that the weaver is prone to lose sight of the whole whilst paying attention to the part in progress, and it will be easily understood that to be able to go round and view the entire piece is of immense help. A detail may perhaps be corrected during the progress of the work, but afterwards this would be an awkward matter. It is one of the difficulties of weaving to have to finish completely each step as it comes up. Working from the wrong side is not so hard as it might seem, for both sides are practically alike; the side towards the worker, however, shows ends of thread and thread passing from one place to another, which make it somewhat unpresentable.
