How to Make an Easy Hooked Rug

Latch hooking material has larger holes than burlap fabric.

Rug hooking became popular in the 1850s, according to Red Clover Rugs. The original tool used to make hooked rugs is a hook tool similar to the one used in crochet. Advances in rug hooking have created newer and faster tools such as the punch needle and speed hook. Red Clover Rugs also mentions the difference between rug hooking and latch hooking. Latch hooking is slightly different in that it uses a hinged hook to tie short pre-cut strips of yarn to the fabric backing. Deanne Fitzpatrick of Hooking Rugs wrote in an article for Artists Loft that while rug hooking is still a craft, it is also developing into an art.

Things You'll Need

• Burlap or latch hooking material
• Embroidery hoop
• Hook or latch hook
• Wool yarn
• Scissors
• Black cotton twill tape

Instructions

Traditional Rug Hooking

1. Draw your pattern onto a piece of burlap if you do not have pre-patterned burlap. Keep the portion you are working on as tight as possible with an embroidery hoop. The tighter it is, the easier it will be to hook the wool through.

2. Obtain as much wool yarn as you will need to complete the project to ensure color consistency.

3. Hold the yarn under the burlap and push the hook through a hole in the burlap. Pull up the yarn end through the same entry hole in the fabric. Every second or third hole, use the hook to pull the yarn through to make a loop that is 1/4 to 1/3 inch in height. Maintain consistency of height throughout the rug.

4. Hook the end of the yarn through to the front of the burlap and cut it to the same height as the neighboring loops. Continue to follow the pattern until it's done. Sew on black cotton twill tape to the edges to finish the piece.

Latch Hooking

1. Draw your pattern onto the latch hooking material if you do not have one with a pre-printed pattern on it.

2. Obtain as much wool yarn as needed to complete the project. Cut the wool yarn into strips 1/4 to 1/2 inch in length.

3. Make a loop with a strip of yarn and push the latch hook through it. Pass the latch hook through a hole in the latch hook material and bring the hook back up through the neighboring hole. Latch the two ends of the yarn strip and bring the latch hook back out of the entry hole. This will tie the yarn to the material.

4. Continue looping and following the pattern until the piece is done.

References

• Red Clover Rugs: Rug Hooking Defined
• Artists Loft: The Story of Rug Hooking

Resources

• Rug Hooking Magazine