| Tramme work is carried out on carried out on DUO (or Penelope)
canvas which has two sets of warp and weft threads which produce one
set of small and one of large holes. The design is stitched
onto the canvas using horizontal stitches of varying lengths and colours,
in two ply of normal 4 ply tapestry wool. The stitcher then
simply uses tent stitch over the horizontal lines with the tramme
stitches acting as a completely accurate guide as to the colour
and number of stitches required. |
 |
The advantages of trammed work are that the precise locations
of all colours are clearly shown by the tramming so there is never
any doubt about where one colour finishes and another begins as is
the case with many printed canvases. Trammed canvases are also harder
wearing as there is an additional layer of wool under the design part
of canvas. The stitcher can also tramme the background areas in order
to produce an even longer wearing finish. For these reasons,
trammed tapestries are very suitable for furniture or other applications
where hard wear is expected. Tramming is an old technique which is
know to have been used in Medieval times. Today the finest quality
trammed tapestries are stitched on the Portuguese island of Madeira,
the recognized world centre for this type of needlework and where
the art has been passed down through countless generations of skilled
stitchers. Due to the the fact that all trammed canvases are
individually produced, they can cost a little more than conventional
printed canvases.
Please Note : All of the trammed canvases shown on our website
are produced in Madeira using top quality materials. |
| Some sophisticated trammed canvas have small areas pre-worked
in petit point to bring out details in the design. Petit point is
worked as the canvas is beng trammed by using the DUO canvas as a
conventional weave canvas so each stitch is quarter the normal size.
|
 |
Choosing your background colour
Most trammed canvases are supplied with the wool for the design
area only leaving you free to choose any background colour you wish.
Changing the background colour can completely transform the design.
Dark colours are very traditional but light pastel shades can look
fabulous too.
In designs where there are two distinct areas of background, such
a floral wreaths, two different background colours can be used
to enhance the design.

|
|
And of course there is no need to have just a plain background;
regular patterns such as stripes or checks look great as
well and are straightforward to stitch on the plain canvas.
|
|
|