Explanation of Latch Hook Assembly

The latch hook technique creates rugs with a shaggy pile. Latch hook became a popular craft in the 1970s. It is simple enough that adults and children can do it. Craft stores sell latch hook kits, which include canvas, a pattern, many pieces of yarn and the latch hook.

Latch Hook

The latch hook has a small "latch" that juts out near a hooked end. The latch hook resembles a crochet hook except for the latch that sticks out. It is usually attached to a wooden or plastic handle.

Yarn

A finished latch hook project consists of hundreds of short pieces of yarn knotted onto a piece of canvas. Latch hook kits include several colors of yarn that are arranged on the canvas to form a pattern.

The Craft

A person assembles a rug using latch hook by wrapping a piece of yarn around the shank or midsection of the hook. The hook is then pushed through a hole in the canvas and out the other side. The person than picks up the yarn ends and drapes them over the latch. She then pulls the hook out of the canvas, so that the yarn is pulled into a knot.

Pattern

The canvas can have a pattern printed on it. The pattern is usually color coded, so that the person latch hooking knows what color yarn to use on what area of the canvas.

Products

Latch rugs are often small enough that they can be hung on the wall as decoration or sewn onto the front of a pillow. In addition to rugs and decorative objects, people use latch hook to make wigs, using hair in the place of yarn.

References

• "Needlework Through History"; Catherine Amoroso Leslie; 2007
• Wool Needlework: How to Latch Hook Instructions
• Left Source: Latch Hook Instructions