Several years ago I took a rug hooking class and have hooked rugs ever since. The rug pictured above is made using a pattern from Maggie Bonanomi which is the first pattern that I hooked. I decided to go ahead and hook another rug using this pattern since I will probably always keep the first rug that I hooked. Being that it is a log cabin it makes it special to me. Here is my first finished log cabin rug.
Rug hooking began as a poor women’s craft. Antique rugs were created on burlap after 1850 because burlap was free as long as they used the burlap from old grain and feed bags. Fabric scraps were used for the rugs as yarn was too precious and would have been used for knitting and weaving. For more information on the history of rug hooking try Wikipedia on Rug Hooking.
Today I use wool strips that I have cut with a wool cutter. I pull those strips through monks cloth or linen with a rug hook to fill in the pattern that I have transferred onto the cloth. I use a quilters hoop on my cloth to make the cloth tight which makes it easier to pull the wool strips through. There are also rug hooking frames available that a lot of people use instead of the quilters frame. Once the rug is finished the edges are also finished with a binding.
Rug hooking has become a popular craft for both women and men. There are many different patterns available for most interest. There are several shops that have rug hooking supplies. One of my favorite shops is Notforgotten Farm. Lori Brechlin is so talented. She has one of the sweetest shops on her farm in Virginia. If you ever have a chance to visit with her you should. Her blog has a lot of wonderful information and she also sells on etsy. I took lessons from Delores at Maple Hill Studio in Lansing, NC. She also carries supplies and is a wonderful teacher. Several other studios and blogs that I like to visit are: Orange Sink, Wooley Red Rug, The Burlap Owl Primitives and Plumrun Creek. I have purchased items from The Dorr mill Store as they have a great selection of all types of supplies. I hope this inspires you to try a new craft such as rug hooking if you don’t know how. It’s a wonderful craft to learn, a way to keep history alive and will provide your home with a beautiful keepsake for generations to come.