Curly Willow Rugs: Creating a Primitive Style Hand Hooked Rug

     I was first introduced to the creative fiber art of rug hooking in 2016 by a dear friend who has been hooking rugs for many years. I quickly fell in love with the endless possibilities of patterns, the sweet, grassy scent of pure linen fabric used as a rug's foundation, and the full crayon box, (as I call it), color palette of wool used to create the colorful designs. As I explored the history, patterns, designers and colors, I found I was "hooked"!
     The design in a hand hooked rug is made by pulling strips of wool through the holes in woven linen with a rug hook. It helps to have the linen stretched taught over a frame as you pull the loops through. These are the tools of the trade; simply, a frame, a hook, a tool for cutting wool into strips, and scissors.
   There are many fabulous artists who design rugs and sell their designs either on paper or pre-printed on linen. With such an array of exciting, beautiful designs to choose from, I rarely design my own rugs. One of my daughters has designed a few rugs for me and I have a couple of simple designs that I drew and enjoy hooking. However, most of my rugs are designs that I purchased from the artist and used only with their permission.
     Wool is available from many shops who obtain it from woolen mills. If good, clean, thrifted 100% wool is found, we will use that too! Thrifted wool must be washed and fulled in the dryer. Many times it hand dyed or over-dyed to a more desirable color. Natural colored wool can also be purchased by the yard for home dyeing. I began dyeing my own wool early on and I enjoy that process as much as I enjoy hooking the rug.
   It is difficult to determine exactly how much time it takes to create a hand hooked rug. Of course, the size of the rug is the main determining factor and the detail of the design also plays a part. It may take thousands of loops to make up an entire rug, utilizing yards of wool when crating a rug like the one pictured below. Each 1/4" loop is pulled up through the linen backing to entirely cover the surface of the rug. This can take days, weeks or even months. Once the rug is hooked, it must be steamed to obtain a smooth surface and square the edges (if square edges are desired). Finally, the edges are bound with 100% wool yarn or a cotton rug tape. Sometimes decorative edges are employed using crochet, braiding, or frame mounting. I always sew a label on the back of each rug with the title of the rug, the designer's name, my name, and the date it was hooked.
     Thank you for your interest in this beautiful, historic craft!