Fabrics: Tapestry

Tapestry fabrics look like embroidery, although proper tapestry fabric is woven on a jacquard loom. Often referred to as ‘textile art’ the design is formed by the weft threads which are tightly packed to cover the warp threads. The warp threads are normally completely covered so play no part in the design. Each colour of weft is worked only in its own section of the design, so there are many different wefts on the go at any one time

Characteristics:

Tapestry fabric is not ideally suited to upholstery due to the way it is made with discontinuous weft threads, so it can fray easily. Density is a factor to look at when choosing a tapestry for upholstery. A good weight is 250-350gsm. Due to its density, tapestry fabrics rarely wrinkle. The treads used to create the designs in tapestry fabrics are generally dyed acrylic so can fade in prolonged sunlight.