Category: hooked rug

This latch hook rug is progressing towards completion

On By vikkihaffendenIn craft, creativity, fibre, hooked rug, latch hook, making, Rug, Textiles, Uncategorized, Wool, yarnLeave a comment

After several years of picking it up and doing several rows and then forgetting it, I have finished going the rug. Yesterday I coated the back in dilute Copydex glue to lock the loops in place. It was a truly messy job. The Copydex was old and so had some lumps I had to try to avoid. It also send to set almost immediately unless I mixed it into the water very quickly. However this generic solution beat paying the high price of the recommended latex backing product.

The Copydex liquid dries clear.

Is saw this idea suggested on a blog and it seems to have worked fine. It took a while to dry though, so I think I diluted the glue to much. Finally, by this morning it’s safe to move, and hasn’t run into the front pile as I feared it might.

The back after it has dried

I have to see on the edging tape and then it’s done. I considered adding a Hessian backing but decided it might spoil the overall softness of the rug. I also wondered if friction with the rough Hessian might draw the wool fibres through to the back.

I’ll see how it wears. I can back it later if necessary.

Patwin Rug Wool Cutter has arrived

On By vikkihaffendenIn alpaca, British wool, craft, creativity, hooked rug, latch hook, making, Rug, WoolLeave a comment

I bought this efficient little gadget on eBay last week, and it arrived today.  I have been cutting the wool manually with a gauge I made myself from 2 rectangles of heavy mount card stuck both sides a narrower rectangle of corrugated cardboard to allow for the scissors to be inserted to cut the wool. 

Here is how I made it.


And here is the dingy little Patwin Rug Wool Cutter with some of the shorter lengths.


Unfortunately the cutter cuts to a slghtly different length so I can’t use it as is for the rug I have already started. But being inventive I hope I can pad the drum of the cutter so that it cuts to the same length as my gauge. 

The rug I am currently making is a latched rug hooked into a mesh background. The wool is a British wool and Alpaca mix, which I suspect will shed a lot, although the he British wool should make it reasonably hard wearing. I was seduced into buying the yarn as it was very attractive colours, an soft eggshell blue and a cream which will fit in with most colour schemes, and then a darker teal blue with a rust accent. The design is based on an African textile weave in simple graded stripes broken by a middle stripe with diamond and zip zag patterns as in my working graph.