Tapestries were of special inspiration to Morris who though modern production methods and designs were not nearly as creative and noble as the methods and designs of centuries past. He built a traditional high-warp loom and taught himself how to weave in the traditional French manner. He designed some of the most famous tapestries of the time including The Tree of Life and The Woodpecker with help from colleagues. He used medieval styles, techniques, and inspiration to create these famous hangings.

Morris went on to found a production company, Morris and Co. who produced many different textiles from carpet to wallpaper and gave Morris a great outlet for his creative designs. Morris and Co. eventually dissolved but not for a few years after Morris’ death and after creating many different works of art. Morris designed and produced stained glass, tapestries, ceramic tiles, furniture, wallpaper, and carpets. Morris and Co. went a long way in reviving many of these ailing crafts and art forms.

Burne-Jones also worked with Morris and designed many pieces for Morris and Co. Burne-Jones designed many tapestries as well as window glass all of which having inspiration from the Middle Ages. Burne-Jones had a special affinity for tapestries, and like many of his other works he specialized in creating figures in his tapestries. He became an expert craftsman and even lectured on the subject. Morris and Burne-Jones also designed and manufactured furniture along with their other Morris and Burne-Jones’ foray into furniture design began in 1856 when they began designing furniture for their empty rental after being unable to find furniture that met their aesthetic tastes. This led Morris to explore embroidery and different styles of furniture decoration. Morris believed that a designer should be experienced in all of the aspects of a technique so he studied fiber dying techniques as well. Morris designed and created many tapestries and wall hangings entirely himself, even dying the thread with plant materials. One such wall hanging entitled If I Can was one of the first that Morris designed and created and also reflected his desire to see his work through from idea to finished piece.

The Jacquard Loom

A Jacquard loom is a mechanical loom that was invented by Joseph-Marie Jacquard early in the 19th century. It revolutionized the way tapestries were woven and made the process much faster and easier. While it did help to automate the process, tapestries were still hand made. A Jacquard loom used a series of punch cards to control the weaving of each pattern. Before the Jacquard loom was invented, weaving a tapestry was a labor intensive process that relied on many experienced professionals to produce a tapestry and the process could take years. The Jacquard loom made it possible for weavers to concentrate on the creativity and quality of their designs. It also standardized weaving quality and made tapestries available to new markets. The Jacquard loom was the beginning of the mechanized production movement of tapestries and textiles.

The Jacquard loom uses a process that uses punch cards to control the sequence of weaving movements that otherwise would be done by hand. Tapestry weaving remained a complex process even with the Jacquard loom as there was still a lot of repetition as threads had to be continuously looped. The Jacquard loom did make the process easier, however, as it created the patterns out of the individual threads that otherwise would have to be woven by hand. The Jacquard loom automated much of the weaving process of individual threads and made creating a tapestry much easier than it had even been before.

The punch cards were the integral part of the weaving process of the Jacquard looms and allowed a weaver to create many tapestries with the pattern stored on the card. Because the cards controlled the pattern and could be reused, the weaving industry began to develop a degree of standardization in designs, patterns, and quality.

The Jacquard loom was the precursor to many later machines that automated repetitive tasks. It was discovered with the invention of the Jacquard loom that machines are better at repetitive tasks than humans but although the machines punch cards were responsible for weaving, the design and creativity that went into creating a tapestry remained the job of the artist. Perhaps the most important development of the Jacquard loom was taking the tapestry out of the realm of the rich and opening up the market to a class of people who could not previously afford hand woven tapestries.