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Stitching & Crafting Room:  History of Rug Hooking  |
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FieldsofThyme
Farmgirl Guide & Schoolmarm / Chapter Leader
4928 Posts
USA
4928 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 16 2011 : 06:45:16 AM
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Sharing this from a local rug hooking class:
Rug Hooking History
Many believe that the earliest forebears of hooked rugs were the floor mats made in England during the early part of the 19th century. Workers in weaving mills were allowed to collect thrums, pieces of yarn less than 9 inches. There were taken home as they were useless to the mill and the people would then pull them through a backing material to make a rug.
Others believe that the Vikings, whose families probably brought it to Scotland, also used the technique of hooking woolen loops through a base fabric. There are sound examples of this at the Fold Museum in Guernsey, Channel Islands of early rag rugs. You can also find examples that were produced off the coast of France as well.
Rug hooking as we know it today may have developed in North America, specifically along the Eastern Seaboard, both n the USA and Canada. The modern preference for only using cut wool strips originated with Pearl McGown in the 1930’s. She may have saved the craft from disappearing in the United States. Mrs. McGown popularized strict guidelines for rug hooking and formalized its study. Grenfell Mission had previously established strict guidelines.
Rug hooking is considered a craft of poverty. Rug makers put to use whatever materials were available. Antique rugs were hooked on burlap after 1850 as burlap was free if you used old grain / feed bags. All scraps of fiber were used. In United States yarn was not the material of choice. Yarn was too precious and had to be saved for knitting or weaving. The tradition of using scraps of fabric evolved.
Rugs were used on the floors in the summer and on the beds in the winter. The rugs when used on the floor were put loop side down for every day wear and flipped when company came. This would keep the rug cleaner.
Rug Hooking Today
In the recent decades there has been exploration into new materials and techniques. There are two main genres:
Fine hooking, in general, uses strips of wool measuring 1/32 to 5/32 of an inch wide. Designs of the fine-cut hooking genre use more fine shading accomplished by overdyeing wool in gradated color swatches. Primitive (or wide-cut) hooking uses wool strips measuring 6/32 up to 1/2-inch wide.
Primitive or the wide-cut hooking accomplishes shading and highlights using textures in wool, such as plaids, checks, herringbones, etc. Wide-cut designs are generally less detailed and mimic the naivety of rug hookers of the past (pre-McGown designs.)
You can explore rug hooking in books, magazines, and on the web. For a listing of rug hooking websites, visit rughookingwebsites.com
Basic tools
Hoop or Frame
You will need an embroidery or quilting hoop or frame. I will have some very primitive inexpensive frames available for $10 the cost of the supplies. Most people start with hoops but progress to frames specifically designed for rug hooking after the first project or two. Frames can run from $50 to several hundred.
Hook
You can get a hook for as little as $5.00-$8.00. I will have some hooks available
There are some hooks out there with special handles to help people with arthritis or other problems.
Backing
You need something to hook into. It can be burlap, linen, monk’s cloth or rug warp. I have some backing available at cost.
Wool
You can buy 100% wool clothing at the thrift stores and cut them up or use yardage. You can find many websites for stores that carry 100% wool for hooking. There are shops in Ohio. It is very difficult to find 100% wool in fabric stores locally.
Cutter
You can work without a cutter/stripper for a while. You should buy a frame first.
• Your wool can be cut by hand. Snip 1" or slightly less from the edge and rip. Cut with small bladed scissors in half, then cut each strip in half again. You end up with strips about 1/4” wide
• Some hookers use a rotary cutter. The wool has a spongier texture than cotton and can be difficult to cut.
• Small bladed scissors work well if cutting with scissors. Rip wool whenever possible to keep it on the straight of grain.
• Cutter/Stripper - when you use a wool cutter/stripper, you will still rip the wool into 3" wide strips before running it through the cutter. Until you have this piece of equipment, cut it by hand like the pioneer women did.
I will have a cutter available for use during classes.
Pattern
You can purchase pattern. You can find many styles of patterns in your choice of backing online and in stores near our area.
Create your own, I will demonstrate how. Most rug hooking stores and mail order vendors offer a wide variety of blank backings.
• Draw the pattern on paper.
o You can make several copies of the pattern and use these to help to color plan your rug.
o You can draw your pattern on an 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper and enlarge it to the size needed. We can go into that further as needed.
• Transfer the drawing to the backing of your choice
o At most quilting stores and some fabric stores you can purchase a product called red dot. It’s with the interfacings and is very thin and see through. It has a red dot every inch all over the fabric. Place the red dot over your paper pattern and trace with a pencil or pen. Put the red dot centered over your backing and trace with a fabric pen such as a Rub a Dub or an industrial strength Sharpie marker.
Foundation of your Rug
Burlap
• I do not feel that this is as strong as the Linen or Rug Warp.
• Burlap is the most inexpensive backing but most hookers do not like to use it, question how well it will hold up.
• The weave is often extremely uneven.
• There are many types of burlap. Rugs used to be made from feedbags and they were a finer weave than the burlap you most often see today.
• Is a scratchy product to work with
Monk's Cloth
• This is one of the most common backings that beginners will encounter because a majority of the commercial patterns are drawn on Monk's Cloth.
• You will recognize it by the white fibers that run across the fabric.
• The double weave of the cloth tends to catch on the loops as beginners pull them through.
• Can be difficult to pull a wide cut if you insert your hook in between the fibers.
• I find that this backing can be over stretched and you may hook too much in an area. The rug will tend to curl and not lay as flat.
Rug Warp
• 100% cotton.
• Very even weave and the rugs stay straight.
• Very easy to hook along a row for your outer edge.
• The pattern is easier to transfer or draw as you can follow a straight edge
Linen
• The most expensive backing.
• Not as soft as the 100% cotton backings.
• Weave is a bit uneven, not as easy to hook a straight line
• This product has tiny that can work their way up to show slightly on the surface
Types of Rug Hooking Wools
Wool is a general term for the fleece or hair from a number of animals, like Sheep, Lambs, Goats, Llamas, Vicuna, Camels, & Rabbits. Within each type of animal there are many different breeds, especially of sheep, and each has different characteristics. Some sheep are bred for meat, others for fleece, and others for dual purposes. Here you can find out which wools are best for rug hooking, and which ones to stay away from.
Virgin Wool
This means the wool is 'new' & has not been re-processed from old garments.
Note: Fabric made from re-processed wool is referred to as 'Shoddy', hence the general term of shoddy meaning of low quality (not good for rug hooking.)
Worsted Wool
Yarn/cloth made from long staple wool, often Merino, that has a high degree of twist, with the fibers all aligned, & a non-hairy surface. Usually woven with a 'twill' weave.
Not Good for Hooking ** worsted fabrics tend to unravel easily due to the lack of hairs used to interlock when 'fulled' or slightly felted.
Pendleton Wool
Fabric made by the Pendleton Company, a famous USA woolen mill. Good for Hooking
Pendleton Flannel Wool
Flannel refers to the weave/type of fabric; a wool fabric, usually a plain weave, may be a simple check or stripe made using woolen yarn and has a brushed finish. Good for Hooking
Houndstooth
A weave of fabric which results in a distinctive pattern where two colors of yarn form a 'check' that tessellates or interlocks.
Herringbone
A weave of fabric woven using two colors ( one for warp, one for weft) and a twill weave arranged so that a VVVVVVVVV pattern of stripes is formed.
Cashmere Wool
Wool from the Cashmere Goat, Highly prized because of it's softness and light weight. Good for Hooking
Merino Wool
Merino is a breed of sheep. Merino sheep are a breed kept because of the length of their fleece and it's fine denier or thickness. Their fleece is often used for Worsted Yarns/Fabrics as the long 'staple' (individual fibers) meaning there are fewer hairs on the finished surface. Good for Hooking
Tweeds
A Heavier weight cloth, traditionally woven in the area across the border between England and Scotland, including the banks of the river Tweed. It's made using yarn spun from the fleece of local sheep breeds like Cheviots & Herwicks that have coarse fleeces. Tweed fabric is often woven using a 'Marled' or 'Heathered' yarn, where many colors are spun together to form a muted coloring, and may be woven in a check, plaid or stripe, usually using a Herringbone weave. The cloth is warm, and has a brushed or hairy surface; it may be fine and fashionable or coarse and hardwearing.
Best Rug Hooking Weight
Skirt/pant weight or coat weight
The weight of wool fabric you use depends upon the width of your strips, or your "cut". Regardless of the actual fabric used, you need a minimum of 4 or 5 threads in a strip in order for the strip to hold together during hooking.
A light-weight fabric can be cut wider but will tend to collapse when hooked in wider widths; the loops will not stand erect and neatly, so it may be better to hook with two strips at once rather than use a strip twice as wide, while a heavy fabric could be frayed out to make lengths of yarn to be used to hook finer details.
Labeling of Wool
The Wool Mark is an internationally used mark, made up of interlacing lines forming a sort of Shamrock effect, which wool mills are licensed to use if their product is 100% Pure New Wool and of high quality. Get to know this sign. However, even wool bearing this mark may be unsuitable for rug hooking; worsted & gabardine woolen fabrics qualify to use it. Also, some woolen fabrics are treated to make them machine washable, "shrink-proof, or are otherwise treated so that they will not "Full"; a term for a small amount of shrinkage which is desirable for rug hooking, since it helps lock the individual fibers to each other and make strips less likely to fray during hooking.
Most rug hookers find wool with up to 10% nylon content acceptable for hooking. Nylon accepts acid dyes the same as wool and silk, so overdyeing is not a problem. Many of the finer/softer fibers, especially those made of Lambs wool, Cashmere, Camel Hair, Vicuna, & Angora, wear better if made from a 90% wool -10% nylon blend.
Preparing Wool for Rug Hooking
I bought wool . . .now what?" or "I went to the thrift store and bought some wool skirts - now what should I do to them?"
Using Recycled Woolens
Make the Goodwill or local thrift store one of your favorite places to visit! If you want to build your wool stash quickly and inexpensively, and continually add to it — this is the best place to go.
Look for the wools that I mentioned in the previous section that are best for hooking. Go first for the larger sizes in skirts, dresses and pants—more wool for your money! Most thrift shops sell skirts and pants for less than $4.00 each — no matter the size. So you will get lots more wool in a size 18 skirt, than in a size 8! Choose the colors and textures that you like, that you need, and that you know will work for hooking. You will get much better at this as you go along. I can now just scan the racks and see what I need.
2 Read the labels
Choose wools with the wool mark label, 100% wool (not washable wool.) Besides Pendleton, look for the high-end designers’ wools, like Harve Bernard, Leslie Faye, Ralph Lauren, and others. Remember that you are going to rip these apart, then cut them into strips, so don’t overlook those garments that have small holes, broken zippers, or open seams.
Avoid garments that have very open, loose weaves, and those that are very flat and shiny (some gabardines are not marked as such) — these are not going to behave for you.
This is most important: NEVER bring these garments inside your house until you are ready to take them straight to the washer! Critters, moth larvae and other critters can lurk inside—you do not want to expose your carpet, clothing, or other hooking wool to these garments until you clean them. Keep them in the plastic bags in your car trunk or garage until you are ready to wash them.
3 Before Washing Recycled Garments
You can disassemble recycled garments before or after you wash them - it's personal preference. Try it both ways and decide which way suits you.
Since I do not like to open the garments and rip them apart while they are dirty, I just cut off the waist bands with scissors, then remove the linings. Next, I wash the garment with the other seams intact. I like to minimize my own exposure to the stuff that falls out of a used garment — although I do make a habit of checking pockets for junk I don’t want in my machine and on the wool, like tissue, matches, or whatever. So be sure to empty pockets before you wash.
4 About Washing Wool
To wash wool in preparation for hooking, use warm or hot water and a cold rinse on your washing machine. Do not use any detergent containing bleach additives—bleach will dissolve wool. I prefer to use powdered Tide detergent (it is inexpensive to buy and it does not contain any added perfumes or bleaches.) Use the regular cycle on your washer to ensure sufficient agitation for fulling the wool. Gentle cycles will not agitate enough and your woolens will still be too thin and flat for hooking. The factors that cause sufficiently fulled woolens are the temperature change from hot to cold and agitation. Spinning at the end of the cycle will not hurt your wool.
Remove the wool as soon as the wash cycle completes
NOTE: Wool fuzz & lint can easily clog your washer. Be sure to thoroughly clean the left-overs from the inside of your washer after the wool comes out. At the end of your wool washing day, run a cycle of hot water with bleach through your washer to help break down and pass through any wool that might be stuck in your hoses or
5 Washing the Wool
If you buy wool off the bolt (as-is) or recycled woolen garments for rug hooking, the first thing you will do is wash the wool. If the wool is new off the bolt, this will wash out any sizing that was put in the wool during processing and also will shrink the fibers (full the wool) to thicken it for hooking and to prevent the edges of your cut strips from raveling as you hook with them.
If the wool is recycled, washing does the necessary fulling for these woolens, but it also washes out any body soil, oils, dry cleaning fluid residues, or dirt that would attract moths and their wool-eating larvae into your stash (not a good thing!)
6 Disassembling Washed, Recycled Garments
After washing, I start at the bottom of the skirt or the leg of a pair of pants, snip through the hem in the seam going up the side, then rip the seam out just by pulling — wet wool and threads rip very easily. I open all the seams that run up the sides and back or font of the garment. If it’s a skirt, I just have to open the hem and I am done (I already took off the waist band.) If there are pockets, I simply cut them off and throw them away. For a pair of slacks, I would next open the seams at the crotch, cut off and discard the pockets, and I have 4 panels of wool. For dresses, I just follow the same procedure as for skirts, discard anything that doesn’t give me a decent size piece of wool.
7 Drying & Storing Wool
Put your wool in the dryer on regular heat with a fluffy terry towel and a dryer sheet. The towel will help the wool to get fluffy and dry fast, and the dryer sheet will help prevent the wool from getting wrinkled and stuck to itself. Remove promptly, and either fold or roll the wool. Add it to your stash!!
Store your wool in a place where is will not be affected by accumulated moisture (plastic bags and plastic tubs are not the best choice.) If you have some shelves or a cupboard or dresser where the temperature is stable, that is a good place to store your wool. Plastic bags & boxes are okay, if they are not kept in a hot or damp place, and it is a place with low humidity. Lavender blossoms will keep the moths out, and also make your wool smell heavenly! Make several little sachet bags filled with lavender and tuck them among your woolies
From <http://www.amherst-antiques-folkart.com/RugHooking_PrepareWool.htm>
Traditional Styles
Fine Hooked Rugs with thinner strips of material and a variety of shading techniques are used.
Primitive Hooked Rugs use wider strips of material and generally little shading is involved.
Tools The tools are the same in either of these forms.
Here is a list of the basic equipment needed:
1. A hand hook - to form a loop pile on the surface of the backing material
2. A Frame - to hold the base material in place for hooking, there are many different types of frames from very simple needlepoint frames to large floor frames
3. Scissors - These are normally small scissors with a bent handle that allow the "hooker" to cut the material very cleanly
4. Cutter and Blades, or Scissors - Used to make strips of wool (or other material) from larger pieces. The thinner the strip of wool the finer the finished product will be.
5. Rug Pattern - The pattern is drawn on the Backing Material and is used as a guideline for hooking. The backing material is usually burlap, monk's cloth or Linen.
6. Wool Material - Wool can normally be purchased by the yard of the piece and can be purchased in many different colors. You can also use old wool clothing for this and more experienced "hookers" will often-custom dye their wool for a specific project.
Farmgirl #800
http://momzonetakingtimeformom.blogspot.com/
http://scrapreusedandrecycledartprojects.blogspot.com/
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2011 : 01:07:20 AM
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wow you really did your research on this...very nice & so much great info...thank you! Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
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FieldsofThyme
Farmgirl Guide & Schoolmarm / Chapter Leader
4928 Posts
USA
4928 Posts |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2011 : 6:16:02 PM
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Oh honey it doesn't matter...its still wonderful to read all of it....& to learn something new....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
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sunflowercritters
True Blue Farmgirl
1102 Posts
Debra
Springfield
Maine
USA
1102 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2011 : 4:11:23 PM
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Do you have any pictures of your rug hooking projects? I do a little rug hooking myself. It is lots of fun.
I Thessalonians 5:16,17
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Deb-farmgirl sister #462
http://sunflowercritters.blogspot.com/
Be like a Sunflower, Turn your Face to the Son. |
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BalancingAct
True Blue Farmgirl
297 Posts
Jackie
Hoosierville
USA
297 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2011 : 4:32:31 PM
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Wow! Sounds like fun! I watched someone "rughook" at a fiber festival. Didn't get to ask any questions because there were just too many people gathered around her. But, I did learn from the other's questions.
Farmgirl Sister #2851 -"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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woolgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
901 Posts
Elizabeth
Great Lakes
IL
USA
901 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2011 : 4:52:05 PM
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I love rug hooking! I just went to a great fiber show in Minnesota and saw some beauties. I may have spent a little bit too much buying some new supplies though. :)
Farmgirl #1947 |
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Stitching & Crafting Room: History of Rug Hooking |
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History of Rug Hooking
