Game of Thrones Tapestry

Last updated

Game of Thrones Tapestry
Game of Thrones Tapestry.jpg
YearJuly 2017
Dimensions70 cm× 8210 cm(28 in× 3,230 in)
LocationUlster Museum Belfast
Website https://www.ireland.com/en-gb/features/game-of-thrones-tapestry/
Ulster Museum Ulster Museum 3.JPG
Ulster Museum
Weekly tapestry lengths
Season . EpisodeLength (m)Total length (m)Total length (ft)
110.7010.7035.10
210.6321.3369.89
310.7532.08105.25
411.4043.48142.65
511.6455.12180.84
611.3066.42217.91
7.11.7068.12223.49
7.21.5069.62228.41
7.31.4771.09223.23
7.41.5372.62238.25
7.51.5374.15243.27
7.61.5775.72248.43
7.72.2377.95255.74

The Game of Thrones Tapestry is a hand-crafted tapestry, woven by hand on a jacquard loom, with additional embroidery. The tapestry tells the entire story of the television show, Game of Thrones . [1] It consists of seven 11-metre-long panels and one 10.5-metre panel. The eight panels depict scenes from each episode and include images of crew at work. [2] [3] The tapestry was commissioned by HBO and Tourism Ireland, the tourism bureau of Northern Ireland [4] where HBO filmed much of the series.

Contents

It was put on view to the public on 21 July 2017 at the Ulster Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland. [5] In 2018, it was 66 m (217 ft) long, It was completed in July 2019, and, at 90 m (295 ft), is longer than its inspiration, the 70-metre-long Bayeux Tapestry. [6]

The finished tapestry was displayed at the Bayeux Museum in Bayeux, Normandy, France, from 13 September to 31 December 2019. [7] At the time, The New York Post reported: “Irish officials hope the Bayeux exhibit will boost tourism to Northern Ireland. Its Game of Thrones sites are already a big draw, attracting 350,000 visitors in 2018 alone.” [8]

Background

The tapestry celebrates the legacy of the linen and textile industry of Northern Ireland, historically one of the largest in the world. At the end of the 19th century, it is estimated that over 100,000 people in the north of Ireland were employed in the manufacture and decoration of linen. [9]

Today, the Irish linen and textile industry is much smaller, whereas a growing number of the Northern Irish have found direct or indirect employment in the Game of Thrones tourism industry. [10]

Publicis London, the advertising agency, generated this campaign to help a global audience understand this shift in employment.

The tapestry was made from material which represents that of the late 18th century (linen) and a technique passed on from generations (embroidery). The tapestry was hand-embroidered by some of the last few people remaining in the industry in Northern Ireland.

Game of Thrones illustrated

Many iconic scenes from Game of Thrones are portrayed in the traditional illustrative style of medieval tapestry. Some garments worn in the show were supplied by the Irish textile trade, and the tapestry contains some of these same yarns. Yarns were supplied by Thomas Ferguson and Co. Ltd of Banbridge in associations with the Irish Linen Guild. [11]

Publicis London worked closely with HBO to ensure that all characters were true to their appearances on the show and to their roles during particular scenes. [12]

The Game of Thrones Tapestry Website was launched in July 2017. Viewers can scroll the entire length of the tapestry and zoom in to see each individual stitch. The website was updated as each new section was created. The site carefully plots the filming locations (Castle Ward, Shillanavogy Valley, Inch Abbey, Dark Hedges, Downhill Strand, Ballintoy Harbour, Cushendun Caves, Audley's Field, Pollnagollum cave) famous to Northern Ireland and presents further key facts within the show and each location.

Creative process

Creative design

Season 7 Episode 4 - rough sketch Game of Thrones Tapestry Panel 7 Episode 4 rough scamp.jpg
Season 7 Episode 4 – rough sketch
Season 7 Episode 4 - outline GOTTapestry Panel 7 Episode 4 outline sketch.jpg
Season 7 Episode 4 – outline
Season 7 Episode 4 - woven / Embroidered scan Game of Thrones - SEASON 7 Episode 4.jpg
Season 7 Episode 4 – woven / Embroidered scan

Publicis London employed a group of illustrators from Jelly London, an animation/illustration studio in London. The illustrators started by creating outline sketches using both pen and paper and digital touch screens. Sketches were in black and white, with the aim of identifying the correct style, tone of voice, scale and detail, for approval by HBO and Tourism Ireland. Once approved, the line drawings passed through a colourisation phase, a lengthy process of converting the monochrome designs into coloured pieces of illustrated artwork. This process considered line widths, contrasts and resolution, and identified the correct colour palette to use for each section.

Weaving

The illustrated artwork was then passed to hand-weaving specialists. The artists at Dash & Miller started the weaving process by setting up their loom to the required specification. Several tests were carried out during the early stages of the campaign to determine the design density and range of colours possible. A specialist software was used to help translate the artwork into a format readable by the loom. Once programmed, the team at Dash & Miller began weaving, using the colour palettes instructed by the loom. The average speed of weaving was 4 hours per metre. To capture the weekly episodes, a camera was installed above the loom: it was set to take regular shots during the weaving process, which were then stitched together to create a weekly time-lapse.

Embroidery

Once woven, the 11-metre section of tapestry was shipped to Belfast to be embroidered. This was done at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, near Holywood, County Down. Key areas on the tapestry were selected to be embroidered by a team of 30 stitchers working in groups of 6 and 9 at a time. The team included six staff from the museum. The work also relied heavily on the help of volunteers drawn from textiles guilds, including the Northern Ireland Lace Guild, the Patchwork Guild, and the Embroidery Guild. Stitching was undertaken on a daily basis for over three weeks. The volunteers ranged from a recent textiles graduate in her mid-twenties to an 82-year-old with a background in the garment stitching industry.

Loom setup and programming

Machine set-up and weaving

The jacquard loom used for weaving the tapestry was a hand-operated TC2 weaving loom [13] from Digital Weaving Norway. This loom was the latest technology in hand-woven jacquard design and allows the hand-weaver to create intricate and complex patterns by hand.

The black and white cotton warp threads first had to be wound onto the loom. This was done in 64m lengths, and the threads were wound onto the back beam of the loom. The warp had 60 threads per inch and was approximately 20 inches wide. Each thread needed to be threaded through a heddle in the middle of the loom, and then through the reed at the front of the loom. This threading process was done by hand using a threading hook. Once the machine was threaded up, the warp threads were secured at the front of the loom onto the front beam. The loom then had to be calibrated to advance the warp threads at the correct speed to weave 84 threads per inch.

To begin the weaving process, Dash & Miller wove 1 or 2 inches of plain weave at the beginning of the warp. This spaced out the warp threads properly and evened out any tension issues. They then began weaving the tapestry, passing the 3 colours of thread by hand through the shed created by lifting the warp threads up and down. The computer controlled which threads were lifted up and down, but the weft yarns were passed through the shed by hand. Weaving built up at a rate of approximately 11 inches per hour, and the weaving was stored on the cloth storage beam at the front of the weaving loom.

Once the weaving was completed, another 1 or 2 inch plain weave border was added before the weaving was cut off the loom, ensuring the warp threads were still threaded so they could be tied on to begin the process again for the next panel.

CAD design and colour palettes

Using specialist weaving software from Pointcarre, the illustrators' artwork first had to be calibrated for the jacquard loom, taking into consideration the weave construction and warp and weft yarns. The warp yarns were 2/30NE Cotton in black and white end-on-end, and the weft yarns were 1/10NM Flax and Linen.

The fabric comprised combinations of double-cloth and double-faced satins and sateen structures over 4 ends. The combinations of 3/1 and 1/3 satin structures, together with blending of warp and weft colours, allowed the creation of different shades within a spectrum to bring depth and intricacy to the weave.

The illustrators' artwork was converted into a weave file by first defining the colours within the 4 colour palettes. The weave used three weft colours, split into colour palette in the following way:

Tapestry colour palette Tapestry Color Palette.png
Tapestry colour palette

During the weaving process Dash & Miller blended three colours together in the weft, and the illustrators marked which sections of the design should be woven in each colour palette. They then manually switched between colour palettes during the weaving process.

The weave had 84 threads per cm in the weft, and to ensure the scale remained true to the designs the artwork had to be stretched and rotated. The CAD was stretched by 140% to allow the weaving to come out at the same scale as the original illustrators artwork. The artwork was rotated by 90 degrees counter-clockwise so that the piece can be woven as a continuous length on the loom.

Once the artwork was scaled and the colours defined, Dash & Miller allocated weave structures to each colour in the CAD using Pointcarre Jacquard software. Each colour within the four colour palettes had its own weave structure. Dash & Miller also added borders and selvedge to the weave to ensure clean edges to the design. Once the weave file was generated, the computer was able to read the pattern to begin hand-weaving.

Thomas Fergusons Irish Linen

Fergusons was first established in Banbridge, County Down, for the hand-weaving of linen fabric. In 1867 the firm introduced power driven jacquard looms for the weaving of linen damask. John England (Banbridge) Ltd, since 2015 a sister company of Fergusons, regularly supplies fabrics for major theatrical and film productions, including Game of Thrones.

Jacquard looms

The loom used to create the panels is a small modern version of that developed by Frenchman Joseph Marie Jacquard, the son of a Lyonnais silk weaver, in 1804. His development was based on earlier work by fellow Frenchmen Basile Bouchon in 1725, Jean Baptiste Falcon in 1728, and Jacques de Vaucanson in 1741. A jacquard loom is one in which a series of punched cards each corresponds to a row of the design to be woven, allowing for a greater definition of motifs. The punched cards operate a mechanism attached to the loom, controlling the pick-up of weft threads as the design evolves. In the case of the Game of Thrones Tapestry, it allowed the weavers to introduce a rich palette of colours and considerable level of detail throughout the work.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacquard machine</span> Control device attached to weaving looms

The Jacquard machine is a device fitted to a loom that simplifies the process of manufacturing textiles with such complex patterns as brocade, damask and matelassé. The resulting ensemble of the loom and Jacquard machine is then called a Jacquard loom. The machine was patented by Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1804, based on earlier inventions by the Frenchmen Basile Bouchon (1725), Jean Baptiste Falcon (1728), and Jacques Vaucanson (1740). The machine was controlled by a "chain of cards"; a number of punched cards laced together into a continuous sequence. Multiple rows of holes were punched on each card, with one complete card corresponding to one row of the design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loom</span> Device for weaving textiles

A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but the basic function is the same.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weaving</span> Technology for the production of textiles

Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft, woof, or filling. The method in which these threads are interwoven affects the characteristics of the cloth. Cloth is usually woven on a loom, a device that holds the warp threads in place while filling threads are woven through them. A fabric band that meets this definition of cloth can also be made using other methods, including tablet weaving, back strap loom, or other techniques that can be done without looms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tapestry</span> Form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom

Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may be visible. In tapestry weaving, weft yarns are typically discontinuous; the artisan interlaces each coloured weft back and forth in its own small pattern area. It is a plain weft-faced weave having weft threads of different colours worked over portions of the warp to form the design.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warp and weft</span> Two constituent threads of woven cloth

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damask</span> Reversible figured woven fabric

Damask is a reversible patterned fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Damasks are woven with one warp yarn and one weft yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin weave and the ground in weft-faced or sateen weave. Twill damasks include a twill-woven ground or pattern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darning</span> Sewing technique for repairing holes or worn areas in fabric or knitting using needle and thread

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balanced fabric</span> A type of fabric

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selvage</span> Narrow edge of a woven fabric parallel to its length

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silk in the Indian subcontinent</span> Overview about silk in the India subcontinent

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brocade</span> Decorative shuttle-woven fabric

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shed (weaving)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woven coverlet</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soumak</span>

Soumak is a tapestry technique of weaving sturdy, decorative fabrics used for carpets, rugs, domestic bags and bedding, with soumak fabrics used for bedding known as soumak mafrash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odisha Ikat</span>

Odisha Ikat, is a kind of ikat known as Bandhakala and Bandha, a resist dyeing technique, originating from Indian state of Odisha. Traditionally known as "Bandhakala"', "Bandha", '"Bandha of Odisha", it is a geographically tagged product of Odisha since 2007. It is made through a process of tie-dying the warp and weft threads to create the design on the loom prior to weaving. It is unlike any other ikat woven in the rest of the country because of its design process, which has been called "poetry on the loom". This design is in vogue only at the western and eastern regions of Odisha; similar designs are produced by community groups called the Bhulia, Kostha Asani, and Patara. The fabric gives a striking curvilinear appearance. Saris made out of this fabric feature bands of brocade in the borders and also at the ends, called anchal or pallu. Its forms are purposefully feathered, giving the edges a "hazy and fragile" appearance. There are different kinds of bandha saris made in Odisha, notably Khandua, Sambalpuri, Pasapali, Kataki and Manibandhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pin weaving</span>

Pin weaving is a form of small-scale weaving traditionally done on a frame made of pins; the warp and weft are wrapped around the pins. Pin-woven textiles have a selvage edge all the way around.

References

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  5. Campbell, Felicity (25 July 2017). "Northern Ireland unveils giant Game of Thrones tapestry". The National. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  6. "The Game of Thrones tapestry is now complete". Winter is Coming. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  7. "Game of Thrones Tapestry exhibited in Bayeux". Bayeux Museum. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  8. "A stitch in time: Tapestry immortalizes 'Game of Thrones'". New York Post. Associated Press. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  9. "The Belfast linen industry - OpenLearn - Open University". www.open.edu. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  10. "What has Game of Thrones done for Northern Ireland? | Ulster Craic".
  11. "Winter is looming as Game Of Thrones tapestry goes on show at Ulster Museum". Irish Examiner. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  12. Diaz, Ann-Christine (18 July 2017). "See the Entire 'Game of Thrones' Saga in One Massive Tapestry". creativity-online.com. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  13. "TC2 Loom". Tronrud Engineering . Vibeke Vestby. Retrieved 10 August 2017.