I had the good fortune to be able to take a workshop on Twill Tapestry with weaver and tapestry artist, Kaija Rautiainen a couple of years ago.

The Twill Tapestry workshop was held at the Kootenay Gallery of Art, History and Science in Castlegar, BC.

Weaving Between the Lines
This was an exhibition of contemporary British Columbia tapestry sponsored by the B.C. Society of Tapestry Artists (B.C. STARS) and the Canadian Craft Museum. The exhibition was curated by veteran tapestry maker and art educator Jane Kidd.
Weaving Between The Lines includes works by the artists:
Anne Clark, Marion Cragg,
Gabriela Diaconu, Laura Ford,
Barbara Heller, Alison Keenan,
Lois Kennedy, Margaret Klajnart, Mieko Konaka, Karen Leitch, Anthea Mallison, Jane MacKenzie, Kaija Rautiainen, and Jane Kidd (Curator).

Craft Council of BC
If you ever have the chance to take a workshop with Kaija, I highly recommend it. Also, be sure to drop by her studio if you are visiting in Vancouver, BC. You can find Kaija and Barbara Heller in their studio on Granville Island.

Twill Tapestry Technique
Kaija Rautiainen developed this technique based on a Finnish style of double cloth, only she uses a tapestry design on one side of the cloth.

Place a cartoon design behind the warp, as you do in regular tapestry.

Warp
Use 4/8 cotton, seine twine or linen # 4 or 6
Sett: 10 epi
Use a dark coloured warp, because the warp shows through the tapestry and becomes part of the design element.

Design Weft
The design weft is hand manipulated.
Design weft should be about 1/2 or 2/3 thickness of the background weft.
Wind the design weft into small butterflies

Background Weft
The background weft is wound onto bobbins on a regular shuttle.
Alternate between the background weft and the design weft.
In the Draft shown above, Shaft 4 – weaves the Inlay.

Shafts 1,2,3 – Background
Shaft 3 – Inlay
Shafts 1,2,4 – Background
Shaft 2 – Inlay
Shafts 1,3,4 – Background
Shaft 1 – Inlay
Shafts 2,3,4 – Background

This creates a double layer of cloth. On the back all you see is the Twill cloth. The Inlay design weaves on top of the background.

Kaija Art Kaija Rautiainen
Barbara Heller
Twill Tapestry on Loom – Peter Harris

Weaving Drafts
Rosepath
Birds Eye Weaving Draft
Dimity Cord
Summer Winter Draft
Krokbragd
Huck Lace
Log Cabin
Broken Twill Weave
Tapestry on a Child’s Spears Weaving Loom

Tapestry Weaving Books
Small Loom & Freeform Weaving: Five Ways to Weave
Tapestry Handbook
Tapestry Weaving
Tapestry Weaving: A Comprehensive Study Guide

Tapestry Weaving (Search Press Classics)
Tapestry Weaving: Design and Technique
Contemporary International Tapestry
The Complete Book of Tapestry Weaving

EBAY Looms
TAPESTRY LOOMS – US
TAPESTRY LOOMS – UK
USED FLOOR LOOMS – US
USED FLOOR LOOMS – UK