Tapestry Weavings with T-Shirt Yarn

I started following a lot of weavers on Instagram and got inspired by their smaller wall tapestries. I made two this month.

The first was this purple and white one. The design started like this, but then I didn’t like that clump of purple.

Starting the purple weaving

So I put a row of purple rya knots along the bottom and did a diamond design.

Purple weaving
A variation on the purple weaving – I ended up taking out the top part & putting in a different design.

I ended up taking out the very top of this weaving and putting in a V-shaped weaving.

Purple tapestry completed

The warp on my loom was only half full so I started a second piece with a blue and yellow design.

Bowl of Rice tapestry - early in project

The main lesson I was learning with these pieces was about using t-shirt material. I cut it into strips similarly to what I did in the past for rug hooking. But the jersey fabric really pulls inwards over time. So I may lay it down with plenty of slack, but the next day it has pulled in. This pulls the warp into a V shape rather than straight up and down. I need to lay in even more slack when weaving with t-shirt yarn.

For this piece, I found some nubbly white yarn at Upcycle Recycle which inspired me to make a bowl of rice design.

Bowl of Rice tapestry mid-weaving

I really enjoyed weaving this variegated yarn. It was so unpredictable how it looked when it was done. The nubbly yarn was fun too.

Bowl of Rice tapestry completed