A tapestry is a textile hung on a wall to show a picture or pattern. Strictly speaking, a traditional tapestry is woven: the image is built into the fabric itself, thread by thread, on a loom. Today the word also covers printed wall hangings, where a design is printed onto a large piece of fabric. Both do the same job: they turn a wall into a picture, softly, and on a scale that would be hard or expensive with framed art. Here is what a tapestry is, how they were made and used, and how today's wall tapestries fit into a modern home.
The meaning of the word
The English word tapestry comes from the Old French tapisserie, from tapis, meaning a heavy fabric or carpet. In everyday speech it is also used as a metaphor for anything made of many interwoven parts, as in "a rich tapestry of cultures". In decorating, it means a large decorative textile for a wall.
How a woven tapestry is made
A weaver stretches a set of strong threads, called the warp, on a loom. They then pass coloured threads, the weft, over and under the warp, but only across the area where each colour is needed. The weft threads are packed so tightly that they hide the warp completely, and the picture appears slowly, often from the bottom up or the side across. Weavers usually worked from a full-size painted design called a cartoon placed behind or beneath the warp. A large tapestry could take a team of weavers years to finish, which is why they were so valuable.
Tapestries through history
- Ancient world. Woven pictorial textiles were made in ancient Egypt and elsewhere thousands of years ago.
- Medieval Europe. In the Middle Ages tapestries hung in castles and churches. They kept draughty stone rooms warmer, could be rolled up and carried when a household moved, and showed off the owner's wealth. Famous examples include the Hunt of the Unicorn series, made around 1500.
- Flanders and France. Towns such as Arras, Tournai and Brussels became famous centres of tapestry weaving, and in 1662 the Gobelins Manufactory in Paris began producing tapestries for the French court.
- A note on the Bayeux Tapestry. The most famous "tapestry" of all, which tells the story of the Norman conquest of England in 1066, is actually embroidery: the design is stitched onto linen rather than woven.
- The 1960s and 1970s. Printed fabric wall hangings, often with Indian-style mandalas and bright patterns, became popular in student rooms and bohemian homes, which is the look many people still picture today.
Woven tapestry vs printed tapestry
- Woven: heavy, textured, made by hand or on jacquard looms, expensive, built to last generations.
- Printed: light, smooth, made by printing a design onto fabric, affordable, easy to hang and move.
Most wall tapestries sold today, including ours, are printed rather than woven. That means fine detail and photographic colour are possible, which weaving can't easily do; they are light enough to hang from tacks, hooks or adhesive strips; they fold or roll for moving and storage; and they cost a fraction of a woven piece of the same size.
Our tapestries come in both landscape and portrait shapes, so you can fit a wide wall over a bed or a tall, narrow space. The tapestry size guide helps you choose.
What is a tapestry used for today?
- Wall art. The simplest use: a large picture for a big wall, without the weight or cost of a large canvas.
- Renter-friendly decor. They hang with almost no damage. See how to hang a tapestry without nails.
- Headboards, canopies and dividers. Fabric can do jobs a frame can't. See beyond the wall.
- Softening a room. Like medieval hangings, they absorb a little echo in rooms with hard floors.
- Backdrops. Behind a desk for video calls or streams, or behind a sofa.
- Lighting features. With fairy lights or LED strips. See tapestries with fairy lights.
Tapestry vs poster vs canvas
A tapestry covers the most wall for the money and is the easiest to hang without damage, but it is soft and can crease. A poster is cheap and crisp but smaller, and needs a frame to look finished. A canvas is the most permanent and gallery-like, but heavier and more expensive at large sizes. Our comparison tapestry vs poster vs canvas goes into the details.
Are tapestries still in style?
Yes, though the look has changed from busy bohemian prints to bold single images, cosmic scenes and graphic art. We look at the trend in are tapestries still in style, and at keeping one looking good in how to wash a tapestry and get the wrinkles out.
You can browse every design in the tapestries collection.