Small Looms, Wide Views: Weaving Landscape with Handspun Yarn

About Small Looms, Wide Views: Weaving Landscape with Handspun Yarn

In this online class, students will create a tapestry sampler on a mini loom inspired by landscape, using hand-spun, sustainable yarns. Through guided demonstrations and step-by-step instruction, participants will explore how color, texture, and line can be used to suggest sky, land, water, and horizon within a small woven format.

Techniques covered will include loom setup, reading and developing a simple landscape cartoon, and foundational tapestry methods such as discontinuous weft, hatching and color blending, shaping and slits, and managing hand-spun yarns in tapestry. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the unique qualities of hand-spun fibers—embracing variation, texture, and irregularity as expressive tools rather than challenges.

Students will also be introduced to strategies for translating observation and memory of place into woven form, allowing each sampler to reflect an individual landscape or sense of place. The class will include live demonstrations, opportunities for questions, and guidance for working at different skill levels. By the end of the session, participants will have a completed or in-progress tapestry sampler and a set of techniques they can continue to build on in future work.

Materials Kit Details, Cost, and Ordering Information

Materials Kit Includes:

A mini frame loom suitable for tapestry sampling (handmade or laser-cut)
Cotton or linen warp thread, pre-measured.
A curated selection of handspun, sustainably sourced yarns for tapestry weaving, including a range of textures and weights
(primarily worsted and sport, with intentional variation)
Multiple colors selected to support landscape-based sampling (sky, land, horizon, and texture)
Stick shuttle
A pickup stick
A weaving comb
A brief printed or digital guide with warping notes and tips for working with handspun yarns in tapestry

Cost: $99, plus shipping
Estimated shipping within the U.S.: $10–$15, depending on location. U.S. shipping only.

How to Order:

Kits will be available for purchase directly through the instructor’s website (Sizz Handmade)
A purchase link will be shared with registered students once the enrollment is confirmed.

Students are responsible for ordering kits directly from the instructor.

Ordering Deadline:

A recommended order cutoff date of two weeks prior to the class to allow time for preparation and shipping
Kits are optional. Students are welcome to participate using their own loom, tools, and yarns if preferred.

This class is designed as a gentle but information-rich sampler, offering students multiple techniques they can revisit and expand after the session. The mini loom format keeps the scale manageable while allowing for meaningful exploration of landscape, color blending, and texture using hand-spun yarns. Instruction will be highly visual and accessible, with clear demonstrations, thoughtful pacing, and time for questions. Students are encouraged to work from observation, memory, or imagination, making the class adaptable to a range of experience levels. Emphasis is placed on process over perfection, helping participants build confidence while learning how hand-spun fibers behave in tapestry. This session is well-suited for weavers who are curious about tapestry or hand-spun yarns, as well as more experienced makers looking for new approaches to expressive landscape and material-led design.

The capacity for this class is 25 students.

Class Materials

Students should provide:
Frame loom or small pipe mini loom
Cotton or linen warp thread
Handspun yarns in worsted or sport weight for tapestry is best; chunky, lace-weight, or irregular yarns are also welcom.
Weaving comb (or a household substitute such as a fork or hair pick)
Stick shuttles or butterflies (boat shuttles are not recommended for this class)
Pickup stick (or a ruler, stick shuttle, or similar tool)
Substitutions are welcome. If handspun yarns are not available, students may use commercially spun yarns, yarn remnants, or textured fibers. Consistency is not required, and variation is part of the learning process.

A limited number of optional materials kits will be available for purchase through the instructor’s website. Kits will include a curated selection of handspun, sustainably sourced yarns suitable for tapestry, along with guidance for use in the class. Purchasing a kit is entirely optional; students are welcome to work with materials they already have.