Yesterday I set up my table loom for tapestry weaving. It was an interesting experience – it’s been months since I set up a loom for back-to-front warping on a plain beam (normally I use my sectional beam), and I botched the winding-on badly at the beginning, so instead of a cylinder I had a cone-shaped warp. I had to wind it all off and re-beam, thankfully with better results this time. Fortunately, on a 90-thread, 3-yard warp, that took only a few moments! After weaving with 1500+ thread, 20-yard warps, it was amazingly fast.
Anyway, I didn’t have what is apparently standard tapestry warp (8/3 or 8/4 linen is what was recommended by the folks on Weavolution), nor did I have the recommended tapestry yarn. What to do?
Well, I figured that people weave tapestry with all sorts of yarns, so it was probably just a matter of finding the right warp and the right sett. So I took out my 10/2 linen (the heaviest cotton or linen yarn I own), did my wraps per inch, and warped up at the theoretically optimal sett of 10 epi.
Having no idea what weight of weft would be appropriate, I then tried several weights, starting with a sportweight yarn:
I promptly discovered that sportweight was waaaaay too thick! I tried several options, and finally got good warp coverage (tapestry is a weft-faced weave) with a single strand of 30/2 silk. This is pretty, but would take FOREVER to weave a sample, so I think I may try to open up the sett somewhat (fewer warp ends per inch) and weave a sample with slightly heavier yarn. But first I will order somewhat larger warp yarns, so I can use heavier weft yarns in my samples!
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The way I was told to space my warp on my tapestry loom was to wind warp-and-weft around a WPI stick together, side by side, and then count the number of warp strands in the inch, and use that as the sett. My tapestry loom has a built-in spacer at about 6 epi, and warps up nicely with cotton rug warp for weaving with worsted weight wool (both of which I realize are likely not in your stash, grin!).
One of the things a good tapestry requires is a drum tight warp. Impossible on a table loom, so far as I know. Most possible, I believe on a good sturdy CB or CM loom. When you are done learning and playing, you might think about making an Archie Brennan loom. Directions are all over theinternet and you are more than capable of easily making it.
Sarah Swett swears by a wool, rather than a cotton or linen warp. Her wefts are wool (mostly) and she feels the similar fibers “snuggle” better in the finished project. If I remember correctly, the Navajo rugs also have a wool warp.