Lucky Black Cat

D E B B I E S I N I S K A

In this project a shuttle hook makes the loops. The result looks like a traditional hooked work, but the technique is much quicker once you have mastered the knack of working with this type of hook. The frame must be leant against a wall or door as the shuttle hook has to pierce through the hessian/burlap or sacking freely. Long strips of fabric are used, working from the reverse, and the material is cut much wider than in other methods of rug-making.

All types of materials may be used in this project, but stretchy jersey fabrics or old jumpers are favoured by many users of the shuttle hook. The technique is mainly used for making rugs and wallhangings. A nice ideas is to sprinkle dried lavender between the rug and its backing, for a lovely fragrance.

100 x 72 cm (39.5 x 28.5 in)

Materials and Equipment

• Pencil
• Drawing paper
• Sacking (a peanut sack was used for this project)
• Nail
• Strong thread (if needed)
• Large-eyed carpet needle
• Frame
• Strong string
• Tracing paper
• Piece of chalk
• Assortment of stretchy materials
• Shuttle hook
• Latex/PVA glue
• Sacking or hessian/burlap for lining, to the dimensions of the finished rug
• Carpet binding

Sketch out the design on drawing paper, as a guide.

Unpick the sacking with a nail or needle, if necessary, carefully removing any threads that hold it together.

Sew the sacking firmly to the binding on both ends of the frame using strong thread and a carpet needle. You can reuse the thread unpicked from the sacking, if wished.

Assemble the frame, stretching the sacking tautly between the two end of the frame. Then, using strong string, lace the sacking firmly to the side bars.

You will need to reverse the design, as a shuttle hook works from the back of the base material. Trace the sketch on to tracing paper, then flip this over and press over the lines firmly on to a clean sheet of paper. Go over the impressed outline with a pencil to create a mirror-image. Then, transfer the reversed design to the sacking. If you are not confident about scaling-up freehand, draw a matching grid pattern on both the sketch and the sacking, then carefully copy the outline on to the larger background square-by-square with chalk.

Cut your material on the straight into strips at least 1 cm (0.5 in) wide, and thread the shuttle hook as shown.

Set the frame so that it is leaning securely against a wall. Sit on a low stool, and holding your shuttle hook with both hands and leaving the end of the material free, slide one part of the shuttle hook into the sacking.

Without removing the shuttle hook, slide the second half of the shuttle hook into the sacking.

This double movement of the shuttle hook produces a loop on the front of the sacking, as shown here.

Continue making this double movement, ‘walking’ the shuttle hook across the sacking.

Because of the width of the strips of material it is not necessary to keep the rows as close together as you would with traditional hooking. You can work in any direction.

When the design is completed remove the rug from the flame. Trim the hessian, allowing a 10 cm (4 in0 border for turning.

Lay the rug right-side down on the floor or table. Apply latex generously to the edges of the rug back, turning the sacking down over it.

Now stick the backing fabric on to the reverse of the rug, using latex to secure it around the edges. To neaten the edges, stick carpet binding around the edges with latex, mitring the corners. Press down firmly.