The Marguerite Tapestry

This blog was written by Diane Wood, the designer and weaver who lead on The Big Weave at St Mary’s Guildhall.

This abbreviated excerpt is taken from Diane’s blog, where you can read the full scope of the project and see more pictures.

The completed Marguerite Tapestry can be seen in the Great Hall at St Mary’s Guildhall.

This vibrant and contemporary tapestry is a legacy of A Big Weave for All, a community weaving project, and was created with the help of over 200 visitors to St Mary’s Guildhall in Spring 2024. People came together to weave in their thread and so added their bit to the tapestry. In doing so they made their own connections with the medieval tapestry hanging in the Great Hall and also to this new community tapestry. Most participants had no previous experience of weaving and picked up skills as they worked on the tapestry.

The Marguerite Tapestry

A Big Weave for All, weaving with community groups and visitors to St Mary’s Guildhall during a residency in the Great Hall. Weaving alongside the 500 year old Coventry Tapestry we have picked up on some elements of the tapestry as inspiration for our design.

The Marguerite tapestry design - signifying Margaret of Anjou, a principal figure in the Coventry tapestry. The falling petals and the curve of colour give movement to the design. The curve represents the sweep of fabric and the colours are taken from the dominant shades of the costumes in the Coventry Tapestry. The actual weaving will have more resonance with lots of shades of yarn making up the blue and red areas. A hatching technique (widely used in the Coventry Tapestry) will be employed throughout the new piece and will make the tapestry ’sing’. The tapestry will be woven on its side to enable 6 ‘weavers' to sit and work together, when finished it will be hung vertically with the marguerite in the top right corner as shown in the design above.

Preparation at the Mixing Desk

Using the design for colour reference yarns are selected, wound off into balls and butterflies blended using four strands in mixed colours ready for weaving.

Public Sessions

Today presented an opportunity for a spot of contemplative weaving in the inspiring grandeur of the Great Hall at St Mary’s Guildhall, making preparations for the public sessions that took place over the Easter Holiday

A busy day on the tapestry, working with visitors and volunteers. During a quiet spell we completed the transfer of guidelines from the cartoon and marked the lines clearly onto the warp. These clear markings show where shapes need to be accommodated as we weave to and fro. We had an enjoyable visit from Wren Hall’s Creative Cafe and made great progress. Thank you to everyone who sat with us and took time to weave. We were based in The Great Hall which houses the Coventry Tapestry, a 500 year old tapestry, thought to be the oldest still in its original place in Britain.

Another public session, with some lovely conversations around weaving, dyeing, design and Coventry. If you’re wondering - why the luggage labels? - we have been using them to gather comments on the project from all participants. Here’s a couple…

….and in a few short minutes I have learned so much and have found myself connected to something new, and something old. (a visitor from London)

Wonderful relaxing experience. Love the fact that everyone who has a go…. Is immediately hooked! Love it! L

School Day

Two very busy sessions with Year 6 pupils from Joseph Cash Primary School, Coventry. We wove with 52 students and their teachers, each weaving their thread into the tapestry. While waiting for their turn on the Big loom, pupils had the opportunity to hone their skills on the small individual tapestry frames and the peg looms. It’s fair to say that the peg looms were the biggest hit, and not just with the pupils, teachers too were reluctant to leave and move on to the next activity. You could hardly hear a pin drop while all were engrossed in the rhythm of over and under.

Hope in Unity

We were joined by a wonderful group of Caribbean elders from Hope in Unity and enjoyed a superb turnout of volunteers from The Weavers’ Workshop who are based in Spon End, Coventry.

Prepared butterflies were lined up ready for the off and we made good progress with the weaving during our morning session. We shared new skills with the visiting group and plans were hatched for this lively group of ladies to continue weaving.

The tapestry is edging closer to the finishing line, when completed it will return to the Guildhall to hang close to the inspiring Coventry Tapestry. See photos for progress and participation.

Thank Yous

Thank you to the following groups who took time to weave in their thread.

Members of The Weavers’ Workshop, Spon End,

Coventry Members of Coventry Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers

Visitors of all ages to St Mary’s Guildhall

St Mary’s Guildhall staff

Participants from The Queer Writing Group

Young people, parents and guardians of Coventry’s Home Educator Group

Migrants and refugees from Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre

Young people and their families from The Young Carer’s Trust

Members of The Creative Cafe, Wren Hall Wroxall

Pupils and teachers from Joseph Cash Primary School,

Coventry Caribbean elders from Hope in Unity.

Thank you to St Mary’s Guildhall Community Grants Programme for funding, made possible through the Heritage Fund. A Big Weave for All was delivered by Coventry Peace House Education Trust in collaboration with artists from The Big Weave and volunteers from both The Weavers’ Workshop and Coventry Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers