Latch Rug Hooking

Traditional rug hooking is a craft where rugs are made by pulling loops of yarn or fabric through a stiff woven base such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. The loops are pulled through the backing material by using a crochet hook mounted in a handle (usually wood) for leverage. more...

In contrast latch-hooking uses a hinged hook to form a knotted pile from short, pre-cut pieces of yarn.

Wool strips ranging in size from 3/32 to 10/32 of an inch (2 to 8 cm) in width are often used to create hooked rugs or wall hangings. These precision strips are usually cut using a mechanical cloth slitter, however, the strips can also be hand-cut or torn. When using the hand-torn technique the rugs are usually done in a primitive motif.

Designs for the rugs are often commercially produced and can be as complex as flowers or animals to as simple as geometrics. Rug-hooking has been popular in North America for at least the past 200 years.

History of rug hooking

The author William Winthrop Kent believed that the earliest forebears of hooked rugs were the floor mats made in Yorkshire, England during the early part of the 19th century. Workers in weaving mills were allowed to collect thrums, pieces of yarn that ran 9 inches (23 cm) long. These by-products were useless to the mill, and the weavers took them home and pulled the thrums through a backing. The origins of the word thrum are ancient, as Mr. Kent pointed out a reference in Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor.

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