A New Tapestry Technique – Learning to Block

One of the joys of being part of the textile community is that no matter how long you've been weaving, there's always something new to learn.

Recently I was introduced to a finishing technique called blocking by tapestry weaver Margaret Jones. Despite studying tapestry at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, it was a technique I'd never come across before.

If you've ever taken a tapestry off the loom only to discover it has developed a few unexpected waves (and I'm sure I'm not the only one!), blocking can help encourage the piece back into shape.

Summer Dive tapestry a little wavy before blocking

We used the following method:

1. Lay the tapestry onto a sheet of MDF slightly larger than the finished work.

2. Measure the tapestry and use the smallest measurements as your guide.

3. Tape a sheet of graph paper to the MDF.

4. Draw the finished outline using those measurements.

5. Pin the tapestry to the board using 25 mm brass pins, spaced roughly every 10 mm. (Brass pins are ideal as they won't rust.) If your design contains strong straight lines, these can also be pinned accurately to help them remain true as the tapestry settles.

6. Dampen a clean white cloth with warm water, wring it out well and lay it over the tapestry.

7. Gently press the cloth down so it sits evenly across the surface.

8. Then comes the hardest part… be prepared to lose your kitchen table for several days while everything dries!

9. Once dry, remove the cloth and check the results.

10. If necessary, repeat the process or use a gentle steam iron to encourage any remaining areas to settle.

Between plenty of conversation and lots of pinning, it took Margaret and I around two and a half hours to block my tapestry, measuring 114 × 118 cm. I then left it in place for a week while I went on holiday.

When I returned, I was delighted to find it had settled beautifully and shrunk back into the proportions I had hoped for.

Even better, that tapestry is now on display at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

Summer Dive tapestry after blocking

Craft is full of techniques like this—small pieces of knowledge passed from one maker to another. I'm very grateful to Margaret for sharing this one with me, and I hope it might prove useful to another weaver facing a slightly wavy tapestry.