tommye scanlin

I think you see fewer bobbins available for tapestry because it's a speciality market; not quite as many tapestry makers as there are folks involved in other weaving where boat shuttles, rag shuttles, or stick shuttles are the norm.

Many people weave tapestry without bobbins, using butterflies or even short lengths of yarn without bundling them at all.  Others use the Aubusson style bobbins (even harder to find in the U.S. than the small Swedish or the larger Gobelin-style bobbins).  Quite a few of us use the Gobelin-style bobbins... the ones with the shaft to wind yarn on at one end and the pointed tip, sometimes brass-tipped.  There are several sources for those in the U.S.--Kathe Todd-Hooker's Fine Fiber Press carries several sizes; Joanne Hall at Glimakra USA has some; Earth Guild in Asheville, NC has a couple of styles; and a few other suppliers.  John Moss in Clarkesville, Georgia makes beautiful bobbins, as well--and he can make them to any dimensions one wants.

I've got many, many bobbins now (have never counted them), of various sizes and sources.  However, I've been collecting them for almost twenty years.  I began with about a dozen wooden Gobelin-style bobbins and when I'd learned to use them and found how efficient they were, I began to buy more and more of them.  

And I will say that I've tried several make-shift options... like the cardboard bobbins to hold embroidery floss and also bobbin-lace bobbins. I've found that, for me and the amount of time I'm spending with the tools the make-shift "solutions" just don't work.  Perhaps this way will work fine for others.  However, when weaving four to six hours daily with tools I need something that I'm not frustrated with, that I'm not fighting with and that functions exactly as it should--as a tool for use.

Good luck with finding bobbins... if anyone wants John Moss's contact info, by the way, please send me an email and I'll get it right off to you. He has a website but I don't have the address here with me right now.

Tommye