How to Make Hooked Rugs

Hooked rugs have a history dating back to the beginning of America. Centuries ago, warm hooked rugs served both functional and decorative purposes. They were made from readily available materials to cover drafty floors and walls, and they showcased the skills of the maker with their intricate designs.
If you want to try to hooking your own rug way the early homemakers did, you can purchase your supplies separately and transfer your own design to the mesh canvas. If you'd rather work with a pre-assembled kit, that can also be an enjoyable and rewarding activity.

Things You'll Need

• Pre-assembled kit Or: Rug hook Yarn Mesh canvas Design to transfer Scissors Pencil Permanent marker Masking tape

Instructions

Make Hooked Rugs

1. Buy a pre-assembled kit or rug-hooking materials from a craft store. If you are a beginner and making a rug without a kit, keep your design simple for now.

2. Finish the ends of the mesh canvas with tape to prevent damage from unraveling while you work.

3. Read through all the instructions that accompanied your kit if that's what you're using. Follow the color key with the appropriate colored pieces of yarn to create the pattern on the mesh canvas.

4. 

   Learn how to hook a piece of yarn. Fold a piece of yarn around the latch hook. Insert the rug hook from the top of the mesh, canvas down, through one hole. Push the hook up through the hole that is immediately above the hole you inserted the hook into. Push the hook through at least 2 inches and open the flap of the hook so the hook is open. Take the folded yarn and place it into the open hook. Close the hook and pull the hook back out of the original hole. Tighten the yarn.

5. Hook the yarn horizontally starting from the bottom of the mesh canvas. Hook one row at a time, changing colors as necessary. Continue hooking until the entire mesh canvas is filled in with yarn.

6. Turn the mesh canvas over and check to make sure that you did not miss any holes. If there are holes without yarn, hook them now to fill them in.

7. Remove the masking tape to finish your hooked rug.