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A Brief History of American Hooked Rugs
Hooked rugs are part of the tradition perfected and adopted on its own, by the North
Americans. The materials, designs, and motifs employed are entirely different, and
in that vein, are treated as indigenous art forms. The first hooked rugs in North
America were probably made in the 18th century in Maine, New Hampshire, and the areas
of the Eastern USA. This art culminated in the Victorian era, expanding out of New
England and into the rest of the US. Women created rugs in isolation in their homes
or in environments much like quilting bees by either using strips of cloth scraps
from clothes, rags and sacks, or spun wool. Earlier pieces were made on hand woven
linen or hemp foundations but were quickly superseded by burlap, widely available
by the mid 19th Century. The rug hooker, with her right hand above the pattern, and
material scraps in her left hand underneath, pushed the hook down through the burlap,
catching it on the strip and drawing it back up to form a loop on the top of the
burlap. There could be up to ten miles of quarter-
Learn Rug Hooking
How-To: Rug Hooking (YouTube video with Gene Shepherd)
Written Instructions
Read my How-
Rug Hooking Terms
New to rug hooking? This handy list of terms and definitions will help you et a jump on your understanding of this great art form.
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. Find out which wools are best for rug hooking, and which ones to stay away from.
Preparing Wool for Hooking
With the information about Types of Wool for rug hooking and the information on this page, you should have no trouble getting started on your wool hunting journey.
Overdyeing Wool
Watch my PowerPoint presentation that explains how to overdye, marry and stew your rug hooking wool to alter the colors! Or, download the PDF here.
Free project instructions for a Halloween Jack -download instructions and pattern
A Brief History of Russian Punch Needle Embroidery
Miniature needle punch embroidery has been around for a very long time. Ancient Egyptians were among the first to employ this technique by using the hollow bones of birds' wings as needles. The technique was used throughout Europe during the Middle Ages, often to elaborately decorate ecclesiastical clothing and panels. In modern times, it has been associated with embroidery work done by Russian immigrants belonging to a religious sect called The Old Believers.
During the reign of Peter the Great in the 17th century, the Russian Orthodox Church
was going through a period of change. A new leadership made reforms, mostly to worship
rituals, that some rejected. Those opposed to modernization split from the church.
They were severely persecuted, first by the reforming leadership, then by the Tsars.
These Old Believers were scattered into remote areas of Russia and around the world.
Some settled in America. There are several clusters in the U. S., but the largest
concentration of ‘Old Believers' in the United States is near Portland, OR. In some
ways, they are like the Amish. They stay mostly to themselves, and reject many things
in modern culture. Some of their more unique ways include the following: They use
the Russian Orthodox calendar (Christmas comes two weeks later), rather than our
(Gregorian) calendar . They worship in Slavonic, a Russian dialect. They don't like
to eat from plates or use other implements that have been used by a 'non-
Learn Punch Needle
How-to: Punch Needle Embroidery - Download my written instructions
referenced as “the best illustrated instructions found online'”at Layers of Meaning.com
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More Written Instructions
Read my punch needle How-
Instructional DVD & Catalog available here.
Learn Needle Felting
How-to: Needle Felting - Download step-by-step instructions here
Needle felting (dry felting) uses one or more barbed felting needles to create flat felt or felt sculptures.
