Here’s a guide to some of the best wall tapestry resources available on the web today. Did we list some of your favorite? If not, let us know what we left out in the comments box below.

Tapestry Associations & Organizations

http://www.americantapestryalliance.org/
The American Tapestry Alliance is a non-profit organization devoted to supporting the art of contemporary tapestry weaving. You’ll find a wealth of information and additional resources on their website, including news, technical advice, educational opportunities, events and where to source materials.
http://www.etn-net.org/
Headquartered in Strasbourg, the European Textile Network is a non-profit organization set up to further European textile culture in a global context. Their website includes information, a calendar and searchable database.
http://www.textileartscouncil.org/
The Textile Arts Council is based in San Francisco, supporting and advancing Bay Area artists through education and events. The website itself also offers informative newsletters and textile related travel opportunities.
http://www.tapestry.dk/
The European Tapestry Forum is an artist run project that serves to promote contemporary tapestry art via networking, a news section, gallery and more.
http://www.weavespindye.org/?loc=1-00-00
The Handweaver’s Guild of America, Inc. is a thirty year old organization providing educational programs, conferences, and the award winning quarterly publication, Shuttle Spindle & Dyepot.

http://www.northwestweavers.org/ The Association of Northwest Weavers’ Guilds pools the resources of weaving guilds in the Pacific Northwestern U.S. and Western Canada, offering conferences, events, supplier lists and other resources.

http://www.fibreartsonline.com/This Canadian based online fiber arts community features links to suppliers, artists, organizations and more.

http://www.surfacedesign.org/default.asp
The Surface Design Association (centered in Sebastopol, CA) supports emerging and established fiber artists through information and events, including a job board and quarterly magazine.
http://www.tafalist.com/
The Textile and Fiber Art List is a group of artists, businesses and galleries, and the website offers information, classifieds, and videos by its members, among other information.
http://www.canadiantapestrynetwork.com/
A non-profit organization dedicated to supporting tapestry artists via membership. The website offers information on shows and online galleries.
http://www.thebritishtapestrygroup.co.uk/
This group is dedicated to supporting and promoting British tapestry making and tapestry artists. The website itself includes information on history and current news and events.
http://www.tapestryart.eu/
The TapCo (Tapestry Cooperation) website is designed to be a repository for information, events and news for the tapestry community worldwide.
http://www.moonrain.ca/
This not-for-profit cultural organization and centre based in Quebec is devoted to supporting the creation of tapestry weaving and textile arts via education and exhibition opportunities.

Tapestry Publications

http://www.fiberarts.com/
Fiber Arts Magazine offers news and resources on a broad range of textile arts.
http://thetextileblog.blogspot.com/
As the name suggests, the Textile Blog aims to be “the” online source for information on all aspects of textile design and textile artists. The searchable archive of articles contains numerous references to tapestry art.
http://ctw-tapestry.com/blog/
Although it contains no recent entries, the Contemporary Tapestry Weaving blog offers an archive of informative posts on historic and contemporary tapestries and techniques searchable by subject matter.
http://www.weavingtoday.com
Weaving Today magazine gives you the latest news and views on hand weaving, including blogs and forums where you can discuss and ask questions about current issues.
http://www.walltapestryzone.com/
A collection of articles on wall tapestries, including everything from technical information to historic surveys and buying advice.

Tapestry Basics

http://www.saveontapestries.com/articles/index.html
This web page offers buying advice and basic information on contemporary and European tapestries.

Historic Research – Museums, Galleries & Academia

http://www.tapestry-bayeux.com/
The website of the museum in Bayeux, France, devoted to the Bayeux Tapestry. The site contains a detailed reference section about the medieval work.

http://www.wawel.krakow.pl/en/index.php?op=22,33
The website for the Wawel Royal Castle in Wawel, Poland features a section devoted to its 730 item textile collection, including the tapestries commissioned by Sigismund Augustus in Brussels in the 1500′s, with photographs and other information.
http://www.textilemuseum.ca/
The Textile Museum in Toronto, Canada, features an extensive collection, and the website includes a searchable image database.
http://www.studiesinwesterntapestry.net/
Based in Belgium, this site offers information about tapestries in a historic vein, including research and current exhibition news.
http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1395_lawty/wordpress/
Blog of artist and weaver Sue Lawty, artist in residence at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, U.K.
http://tapestrycenter.org/
The Gloria F. Ross Center for Tapestry Studies at the University of Arizona supports both historic and contemporary tapestry production via research and educational programs
http://www.athm.org/
Located in Massachusetts, the American Textile History Museum offers exhibitions, programs and events, along with the Chace Catalogue, a searchable database of their artifact collections and the Osborne Library’s bibliography of 90,000+ books and other documents.
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/vaticano/M-Tapestry.html
A look at the Vatican tapestries, including close up color images and detailed descriptions.
http://weavingartmuseum.org/index.html
Established to support and promote the rich traditional weaving arts of the Eastern Mediterranean, Caucasus Mountains and Southwestern Turkmenistan, the Weaving Art Museum includes an extensive collection. The website is very informative and provides detailed descriptions and histories of various styles and individual pieces.
http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1220_gothic/tapestry_brief.php
This section of the Victoria & Albert Museum’s website deals with its extensive collection of tapestries, including technical information from artist and restoration expert Juliet Griffin.
http://www.westdean.org.uk/tapestry/tapestryhomepage.aspx
The West Dean College in southeast England is devoted to the arts, and includes a full tapestry studio, along with educational opportunities, events and information.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tapm/hd_tapm.htm
Information from the Metropolitan Museum in New York on medieval and renaissance tapestries, including a bibliography and links to current and former exhibitions.
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/tapestry-art.htm
The history and chronology of European and American tapestry art from the 12th century.
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/divineart/index
Information about the collection of European tapestries at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Contemporary tapestry artists & work

http://browngrotta.com/Pages/art.wall.php
An extensive gallery of work by international contemporary tapestry artists.
http://www.tapestryart.eu/06_bookcatal/06_pics/2008_australia/fine_art_of_tapestry.pdf
This online catalogue from an exhibition at the Australian National University School of Art Gallery includes general information on tapestries, as well as particular information on this show of contemporary work and the artists represented.
http://www.wissa-wassef-arts.com/
This center, based in Harrounia, Egypt, offers education on tapestry weaving, exhibitions, and tapestries for sale, emphasizing traditional techniques and artistic results.
http://jameskoehler.com
The website of Santa Fe, New Mexico artist James Koehler features galleris and a detailed slide show of his work processes.

Technical & Practical Advice

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20386
Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving by Grace Christie (1912). This technical manual is downloadable free of charge courtesy of the Gutenberg Project.
http://handweaving.net/Home.aspx
This website run by weaving enthusiast Kris Bruland offers weaving draft patterns, books and videos and an archive section containing over 140,000 pages of technical advice and information.
http://www.marlamallett.com/tapestries.htm
Gallery owner Marla Mallett specializes in “tribal” fabrics and tapestries, and the website offers both images and how-to technical details.
http://www.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/weavedocs.html#mce_temp_url#
Hosted by the University of Arizona, this site contains a massive digital archive of documents on weaving and related topics.
http://arts.jrank.org/pages/9913/Tapestry.html
This illustrated guide goes over the basics of construction and conservation, with a bibliography for further reading.
http://www.allfiberarts.com/
An online encyclopedia of information on fiber arts, including free patterns and other resources.
http://www.embroideryhandbook.com/
This site offers practical and technical information on embroidery and tapestry making, including news and advice on supplies.
http://www.gfwsheep.com/soumak/soumak1.inst.html
Hosted by Gleasons Fine Woolies Ranch in Colorado, this page features illustrated step by step instructions on Soumak tapestry weaving.

Suppliers

http://www.gsdye.com/
One of the major suppliers of textile design supplies in North America.
http://thewoodemporium.co.uk/fibrecrafts.php
British based supplier of hand turned tools for the fiber arts, including tapestry bobbins.
http://www.mirrixlooms.com/
A U.S. based manufacturer and supplier of portable metal looms for tapestry and beading purposes. The website includes information and resources, including a blog with step by step instructions for various projects.
http://www.magnoliaeditions.com/
A fine art print studio based in Oakland, CA and offering services and technical advice. The website features an extensive gallery of contemporary tapestries, exhibitions and installations as well as an informative newsletter.