Wool butterflies are my crayons. I use them to color the spaces of my color-by-number cartoon that’s under the warp. I am using Borgs 6/2 Tuna wool and Borgs 6/1 Fårö wool in this tapestry, combining strands of various colors to get just the right hue, value, and intensity. Getting that right is the hard part. Winding butterflies is the easy part. Especially if you learned it from Joanne Hall, as I did.
It is essential to know how to make a good butterfly when you want to weave a tapestry on a big floor loom like this. A good butterfly is compact enough to easily pass through warp ends. And secure enough to stay intact through all those passes. It also needs to have a tail that is simple to extend. A good butterfly never ends up in a knot or a jumble of threads, but instead, gives your hands pure delight as it flows through your fingers to color your tapestry.
This video shows how I make my tapestry butterflies.
May your days be colored with delight.
From the crayon box,
Karen
Beautiful colors! 🙂 Nice, simple video. 🙂
Beautiful colors like this are so fun to work with.
Thanks!
Karen
Good morning, dearest! What a lovely way to start my day…a fresh cup of coffee and your sweet video. I am so thankful that we were able to take Joanne’s workshop. I finally finished my sample and realize how much I like the movement in the cloth. There isn’t a cartoon in mind, for me. But, I hope one day to dream up something and put it on the floor loom.
Thank you for blessing me with your faithful love and kindness…
Hi Charlotte, I, too, am grateful for that pictorial tapestry workshop! Movement in the cloth is a good way to describe it. It’s such a satisfying way to do tapestry.
Happy weaving,
Karen
Well, isn’t that slick?! Thanks to you and Joanne for sharing this trick!
Hi Beth, It is slick! Before I learned this simple method, my butterflies were nothing but trouble, coming undone and ending up in knots. Something so simple can make a huge difference.
Have a great day!
Karen
Thank you for the video on butterflies, Karen! I have tried them from a book illustration and was thoroughly disappointed. They were loose and sloppy so I bought tapestry bobbins instead.
I am saving this video for a future planned project.
May you have a blessed day. I am looking forward to seeing what you create with with these butterflies.
Hi Annie, It’s nice to have butterflies that hold together. I had trouble with mine, too, before learning this method.
This tapestry will give me many hours of enjoyment! I’ll show it little by little.
All the best,
Karen
Butterflies were used on a cardboard tapestry loom for a 1973 high school art project. The slick wrapping was not taught.
It would appear there is more to learn, even I areas I was confident..
Don’t know about West Texas, but after a humid, rainy and sunless Monday..Tuesday is dry and cloudless. Beautiful day! New skill! God is in the heavens today.
Nannette
Hi Nannette, You have a great memory. It’s sweet that you remember these details from a high school art project.
In this part of Texas (not quite considered West Texas), sunshine and scattered clouds have been the norm. Every day is a good day!
Blessings,
Karen
Thanks for this video. I’ve struggled with using butterflies, but now realize I haven’t been winding the tail end tight enough and too few times. Allison
Hi Allison, I’m thrilled that this video was a help to you. Now, you’ll have even more fun as you weave tapestries.
Happy weaving,
Karen