Chenille wallhangings

Chenille wallhangings are one element, albeit a small one, of our tapestry wall-hangings store. Woven in Belgium, they have four main characteristics.

Firstly, they are versatile for your use in the home. Not just as wall-hangings chenille wallhangings can be used as a throw, tablecloth or even as a low-traffic area rug (such as under a coffee table). I have also known one to be used as a bed cover.

Most often though they are used just like a tapestry wallhanging. They have a rod pocket at the top for easy hanging - see our blog post of a couple of months ago for hanging instructions. They are unlined but the edges are finished. Do note that they will have slight undulations when hung: this is part of their character.

Thirdly, they are woven slightly differently, as a thick chenille composed of cotton, polyester and viscose. This blend provides both decorative detail and durability for its varying applications.

Last, and by no means least, they are good value-for money.

We have just launched the chenille wallhangings in the tapestry sale section in the online store so do look at the selection. All are on special offer while stocks last.

William Morris tapestries

William Morris tapestries are probably our favourite designs so it seems strange not to have written about them before.

William Morris was remarkably diverse in his talents, greatly aiding the effective growth of the Arts and Crafts Movement and providing a rich inheritance for us today. Soon after the centenary of his death (1896) I read a marvellous bigraphy I simply must commend to you: "William Morris" by Fiona MacCarthy published by Faber and Faber.

The most recognizable William Morris tapestry design is probably The Woodpecker (see here) of 1885. To appreciate it one must realise several points:
- that it was based on a poem by Morris himself about a fabled Italian king "I once a king and chief, now am the tree-barks thief; ever twixt trunk and leaf, chasing the prey". He was a very prolific poet and was nominated to be Poet Laureate.
- he created his own engraved typefaces and woodcuts.
- Morris created his own natural dyes to emulate those of medieval times.
- finally, he found an old French crafts manual with the design for a high-warp loom which he had built in his bedroom. All these elements combine to make The Woodpecker tapestry and others distinctively "William Morris".

You will find a full selection of all the William Morris tapestries today in the Arts and Crafts section of our website. They are woven in either France or Belgium and all are lined, with a rod pocket for easy hanging. Do let us know if you have any questions about them.

Tapestry finishing

Tapestry finishing refers to the important task of making a woven tapestry into a wall-hanging. Our European weavers produce tapestries on their tapestry looms, these being the all-important design which you admire. However, at this stage they have no backing: they are simply a raw piece of fabric with rough edges (the selvedge), beautiful but not functional.

To be enjoyed as a tapestry wall-hanging this fabric needs a backing added to it by seamstresses. The backing has two elements, the rod pocket and the material which covers the rest of the tapestry. I will not describe this task in detail but this hand-finishing, such as we do in our own workroom, is a lengthy, skilled task. Done incorrectly your tapestry will not hang properly (we once bought 65 designs from a non-European weaver and 64 had to be re-finished because they hung badly).

First we need to ensure that the tapestry is perfectly square with right angled corners and straight top, bottom and sides so feint lines are drawn on the unseen back of the tapestry. These indicate the lines along which the backing will be attached. The lining fabric is cut to size and the rod pocket is attached, it being about an inch shorter at each end than the backing fabric so that you can hide the ends of your rod if desired. This combined lining and rod pocket is then sewn to the tapestry (the seamstress has to carefully follow the previously drawn edge lines). A one foot section at the bottom is left unsewn. Then the tapestry and lining are pulled through this aperture so that the design on the front of the tapestry is now visible on the outside. The tapestry is then pressed, taking care to press sharp corners and edges. The foot long section is handsewn and, after a few critical additional touches, there it is, finished. Alas, it is not as easy as it sounds!

Tapestry hanging

Hanging your tapestry and caring for it are important, yet simple.

When we ship a tapestry we always include instructions to make this easy. You can see these practical tapestry care suggestions on our website. Here are our thoughts about hanging tapestries:

There may be transit creases on your tapestry when you receive it. These can be removed easily by careful pressing with a steam iron on the rear side. Use the heat of the iron rather than sideways pressing to accomplish this thus preventing some stretching of the yarns.

Tapestries are woven individually on a loom and part of their individuality is that there may be irregularities in the weave or there may be hanging undulations. Do not expect them to be precisely square and flat like a framed print: this is not their character.

There are two ways to hang tapestries with rod pockets (our standard finishing always has a rod pocket on the lining):
- cut a length of round wooden dowel slightly longer than the rod pocket. Insert small closed cup-hooks into each end and simply place them over small picture hook nails. This is quick, easy and inexpensive.
- purchase a metal or wooden decorator rod with finials (decorative ends) from a local drapery, hardware or interiors store. Use the provided brackets to hang the tapestry ‘off’ the wall, or hang the rod over two nails hammered down at a 45 degree angle for flush mounting. Add a pair of cords with tassels to either side if you wish to match the tapestry to the existing décor.

An annual brushing with a soft brush is sufficient to dust your tapestry – or use the drapes vacuum attachment. It may be dry cleaned with care if a stain somehow occurs but we suggest this be a last resort.

Modern woven tapestries can cope with ultra-violet so much better than older tapestry wall-hangings but we suggest they are not placed within direct sunlight. Then they should last longer than you!

If you have any questions do email them to us and we will be glad to advise.

The Quest for the Holy Grail

The Quest for the Holy Grail by Edward Burne-Jones is this months special offer.

In 1895-6 Sir Edward Burne-Jones designed a series of six panels with the overall name "The Arming and Departure of the Knights". It was commissioned for a baronial dining hall from Morris and Co. Fortunately for us, several copies of each panel were woven. William Morris might have been involved to some extent in the last months of his lefe, along with Henry Dearle who supervised tapestry weaving for the Firm.

Some of the dramatic originals are owned by Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber and were loaned for a Pre-Raphaelite display at the Royal Academy, London. I had the immense pleasure of seeing them.

The European reproduction tapestries are woven by a long-established weaver who has elected to use an acrylic, viscose and rayon to bring out the lustrous details of this fine quality tapestry. Click on this link to order your The Knights of the Round Table at the June special price of US$279 instead of the regular US$420. Ground shipping is free of charge.

Tapestry special offers

Tapestry special offers are placed on our website every month.


Firstly, if you click on the Tapestry Sale button on the top left of each page you will always find six categories of sale tapestries: over 150 of them!

Secondly, one special offer tapestry is featured at the bottom of the home page every month.
The tapestry sale item for May is FL070 Garden Flowers in Vase. It is a fine French tapestry woven in wool and cotton. The original price is US$520 with a sale price of US$349. Please note that the website shows the regular price but if you click on the Buy button (to use the secure shopping cart) we will then email you to confirm that the price is US$349.

We think this design is from a painting by Raoul Dufy. It is certainly in his style. Please email us if you have any further information about its origin.

Tapestries in the home - display ideas

Display ideas for tapestries in the home form the basis of an inspiring page on our website. This decor gallery shows both traditional and contemporary designs.

Here you will see tapestries displayed in a wide variety of settings. Their role in making the rooms beautiful is obvious. Do browse the page and click on images of interest since they will open into larger images. Note how they compliment the setting and strengthen it; their colours, texture and style bring the room to life. It is interesting to see that very few have decorator rods; the rods are invisible behind the tapestries. We will discuss this more in the next posting.

If you have a photograph of a tapestry on display in your home you are welcome to email it to us and we can consider adding it to the display ideas page. (Do not worry about the image size, we can re-size it).