Basic Techniques

The two main rag rug making techniques-hooking and prodding- are described in this section, together with details of how to stretch your base material on different types of frame. Advice is also given on choosing colours, materials and designs. Step-by-step instructions on the less common rug-making techniques are given in the projects.

CHOOSING COLOURS

Colour and texture are o great importance in this craft. The texture of a particular material can often spark off idea for design, and the effect of a fabric can be transformed when hooked or prodded: a piece of tweed, for instance, when hooked, can look like the scales of a trout. The width of the strips of material can sometimes change the character of your work, too. It is very much a matter of developing an eye for colour and texture. It is advisable to keep a scrapbook of any magazine illustrations, postcards, or photographs that appeal to you, to remind you of ideas for using colour or of designs that could be adapted to a rug, wallhanging or other article. Any sample pieces of hooking should also be kept for reference.

To Use colour effectively in your work means you should allow either warm or cool colours to predominate. Warm colours are those which are generally considered to be bold – reds, oranges and yellows. Cool colours are the various shades of blue, purple and green which are submissive and retreat into the background. Nowadays colours rules are often broken; this can result either in very vibrant pieces of work or, if you are not careful, the overall effect can appear discordant and harsh.

Once you have decided on a colour scheme, plan how to distribute the colours. Use colours with caution, looking at how they react to each other. Your colour scheme may not only be dictated by your available materials, but also by where the rug will be placed. (If it is to be put in a much-used area, you may not want to use light-coloured materials). A good method of trying out colours is to spread small pieces of the material you are considering using on the floor of the room in which the rug will be placed. Arrange the colours in a way in which you th9ink they look best together, then stand back and consider the composition. You will easily see any colours that are either too bright or too dull. Add or subtract colours until you obtain a pleasing combination.

MAKING STRIPS

As a general rule, the material should be cut on the straight, not on the bias. The exceptions are mentioned in the relevant projects. Always ensure that you have enough of your chosen material. It is difficult to estimate the quantity you will need as this depends on so many factors such as the height of the loops and the type of material, but a useful rule of thumb is to fold your chosen material in four and place it on your background base material – this will give an approximation of the area it will cover.

Whatever material you are using, experiment before you cut all the fabric. With some synthetic jerseys you will have to cut wider strips to compensate for their stretching qualities. A useful general width is 5 mm (1/4 in), but if you are using a thicker material, you may have to experiment to find the best width. Fraying materials have to be cut slightly wider; they should be turned under to give and edge for the hook to bring up to the front. Some people like to work with narrow strips, others with wider ones. It is very much a personal choice. Where possible, tear the material to get a straight edge; however, this is not possible with synthetics or jerseys. The length of trips can vary-generally it is best if they are over 15 cm (6 in), but they can be as long as you wish.

Before you tack the backing material down, it is a good idea to store a few strips of the material used in the hooking between the rug and the backing. Then if you have any disasters in the future and your rug gets marked or damaged in anyway, you have some strips of matching material for running repairs.

DYEING

If you do not care for the colour of any material, you can dye or overdye it. Of course if, for instance, you are using yellow dye on a blue material, the result will be not yellow but a shade of green. White or cream material is ideal for dyeing.

You can also try removing the colour from material by putting it in large pan of water to which a few tablespoons of ammonia are added, And allowing the material to simmer (not boil) for a couple minutes. You will be surprised by how mush colour comes out. Rinse the material well and then set the new colour by simmering for about half an hour in a vinegar or salt bath. You only need to add a couple of tablespoonsfuls of either to the water, which should cover the fabric. (Salt turns the colour slightly grey, while vinegar brightens it). Rinse well. This method works better with natural or mixed fibres than with synthetics. If the colour is very difficult to move, use a commercial dye remover.

DESIGN CONSIDERATION

The fun of using discarded clothing or off-cuts o material is experimenting with dyes. Here some pieces of bright orange material have been simmered in a proprietary brand of dye remover, and taken out of the pan at various intervals to produce a range of shades which all blend with each other.

A simple design can look just as impressive as a more complicated one. Obviously, when planning a rug or wallhanging, you have to bear in mind where you intend to place the finished article. Is the rug going to be seen from all angles or only from one position? Do you want it to be rectangular, oval, circular or another shape? (You will generally find that a square is not a pleasing shape for a rug). You should also decide whether, in the case of rugs, you want a border and if so, of what width. A border should not dominate the rest of the rug but equally it should not be so narrow that it looks lost.

There are many aids to designing, including patch-work templates, French curves, cut paper shapes, ordinary household articles such as cups and saucers, compasses and even fallen leaves. Since the advent of photocopiers with enlargement features, a small design – even a doodle – can be enlarged to act as a basis for design. Avoid anything too fussy, and keep your background simple if the other elements are ‘busy’. Do your preliminary sketch in pencil and then, when you are satisfied, use a waterproof felt-tip pen to go over the design. With prodded rugs, remember that, because they have a shaggy pile, the design needs to be much simpler and will have less delineation. Often a pleasing result can be achieved just by using colour skilfully, although simple shapes, animals and flowers can be very effective, to.

PUTTING BASE MATERIAL ON A FRAME

In any project in which a frame is used, the base material must be stretched very tautly, to facilitate the entry of the hook or other implement. If using artist’s stretchers for the frame, the base material should be the same size as the outside edge of the frame to ensure that the weft and warp of your material are straight. Using the edge of the frame as a guide, staple or pin the hessian/burlap on to it, working first down one width and one length. Then, pulling the hessian very taut, pin or staple the other two side.

Place your frame in good light in front of you. Make sure you are sitting comfortably, not hunched over the frame. You may find that leaning the frame against the edge of a table or over the two arms of an armchair is helpful.

It is essential to ensure the edges of the hessian/burlap are straight when placed on a frame, otherwise the base material will become distorted as you work.

To ensure a straight edge, ease a thread from one side of the hessian gently and put; it out. When you have pulled the thread out, you will see this leaves a line which can be used as an accurate cutting guide.

TRANSFERRING THE DESIGN

If you are not confident about outlining a design freehand, there are several ways to transfer a design on the base fabric. Templates of shapes can be simply cut out in stiff card, placed on the backing and drawn around with a waterproof felt-tip pen. Or, a transfer pencil (which will transfer the design on to the fabric when a hot iron is used to draw around the design on tracing paper or greaseproof paper. Pin the paper carefully to the backing with the transfer-side down, and go over the design with a hot iron. Check it is being transferred by lifting up a corner to see if the transfer appears on the hessian/burlap. If, when completed, the lines are a little faint, draw around them with a waterproof felt-tip pen.

HOOKING TECHNIQUE

Hold a strip of material in one hand loosely between your forefinger and thumb, under the hessian/burlap where your hook will enter. Holding the hook in the other hand as you would a pencil, and working from the front side, push the hook firmly through the hessian. Do not be too gentle: it is essential that you make a nice big hole. If you do not, the barb could catch on the threads when you pull the hook back up. Find the strip of the material with the hook and bring one end of the material about 2.5 cm (1 in) through the hole up to the front.

Still holding the same strip of material loosely under the hessian, and working from right to left, leave two threads of the base mesh and then push your hook firmly into the hessian again. Catch the strip with the hook and pull it up tautly through the new hole to form a loop. Remove the hook from the loop. Repeat step 1 and 2.




The reverse of the work shows how the hook completely catches the material to bring it up to the front. Don’t attempt to feed the material on to the hook; instead, allow the hook to find the strip of material. The reverse of your work should look like rows of running stitches. If you have any loops appearing on the reverse, this means you are not pulling your material up firmly enough to the front of the work. If you find you are pulling out your previous loops, this means you are holding the strip of material tightly instead of allowing it to run loosely between your thumb and forefinger.

Continue working from right to left until you reach the end of the material strip. Bring the end o the material up to the front. To begin a new strip, push the hook into the same hole as the end of the previous strip and bring the new strip end up alongside it. Continue hooking as before. ‘In, scoop, loop’ will help you to remember the whole movement.






Cut any single ends that are showing so that they are level with the loops






Leave about two threads between each row of hooking. If using wider strips of material, you should leave a few more threads between the loops and rows. Remember the loops must be close enough together so that you do not see the base material, but not so closely packed that they make the material ‘hump’.
Never be tempted to carry strips of material across the back of the base material from one point to another; You could push your hook into them and accidentally pull out a lot of loops.

PRODDING TECHNIQUE

Working from the reverse side, and holding the prodder as you would a pen, push it firmly into the hessian/burlap, making a nice large hole.





Using the prodder, push one end of a cut strip of material firmly in to the hole you made, from the reverse to the front.






Using the fingers underneath the hessian, pull the strip halfway through – in other words to the right side of the work.





Leaving about two threads of the hessian mesh, and still working on the reverse of the work, push the prodder in again to make another large hole. Push the other end of the strip through to the right side and again pull it from underneath, so that it is level with the first end.










Push the prodder into the second hole with a new strip of material and repeat Step 2, 3 and 4. (Two strips will therefore come through each hole).









When repeated these steps make the shaggy pile which appears on the right side of the rug.

How materials look when hooked

Around the outer edges of the photograph are the original materials and, adjacent to them, the same materials when hooked. It is always fascinating to see the effects achieved by hooking different materials. When in doubt about the suitability of any material, just work up a small piece to see the effect; keep these samples in a notebook for future reference.