12 Best Needle For Sewing Wool

Best Needle For Sewing Wool in 2023

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Making a Rug with Canvas, Wool Needles and Hooks

Two common methods of making rugs are hooking and knotting with a latchet hook

Hooking by hand

This is done by pushing a hook through hessian ( or jute embroidery cloth) to catch a strip of fabric below and pull a loop of it through to the surface.

The size of the hook used depends on the width of the fabric strip. A straight weave, fine woolen fabric such as flannel is best for strips. Wash the fabric first to pre-shrink it. You will need an area of fabric four times the area of the finished rug. Cut the fabric into strips about 6 or 10mm wide, cutting along the line of a thread.

Knotting with a latchet hook.

A latchet hook has a bar which makes it easier to knot loops. Buy ready-cut rug wool, or wrap wool from a skein around a cardboard gauge and then cut along one edge. The length of each strand should be twice the desired pile depth plus 16mm.

Work the knots by row across the canvas and from the bottom edge up so that the hook can slip easily through the canvas. Work a knot in every hole across the canvas. For a very dense pile, work knots on every row of horizontal threads, for a less dense pile work across alternate sets of threads.

Preparing the base

For all rug making the backing must be held taut while you work. Buy a frame, or improvise one by screwing two large hooks into a wooden batten longer than the rug width. Tack the backing to the wood, then loop rope round the hooks and tie it round the two legs on the far side of the work table. As you work down the backing adjust the rope to move the wooden strip farther away from you. Hold the free end of the backing taut.

The base should be the size of the finished rug plus about 75mm all round. If you have to join hessian or jute embroidery cloth, trim the selvedges from the edges to be joined. Overlap one 19mm onto the other, then machine sew down both edges of the overlap 3mm from the raw edge. Pierce both thicknesses when you are hooking the rug. Machine a 10mm turning round each side.

To join canvas, trim the selvedges off the edges to be joined. Overlap one over the other by four threads and oversew the four rows together by hand. Bind the edges with masking tape.

Mark the center of the backing fabric and the mid-point of each edge.

Marking the pattern

You can buy rug bases already marked with a pattern. To design your own, trace or draw the pattern on paper. For working on hessian or jute embroidery cloth, stab a thick darning needle through the paper at frequent intervals along the lines of the design. Center and pin the pattern on the base - right side up.

Sprinkle pounce ( a powder sold in craft shops) or powdered French chalk over the pattern and rub it over the rows of holes with a wad of fabric. Lift off the paper carefully. Join up the dots with a dressmaker's pencil and shake off the loose pounce.

For canvas, center the canvas over the paper pattern and hold the two together with small clothes pins or bulldog clips. The pattern is visible through the canvas; use a waterproof marking pen to race the design on the canvas.

Finishing Off

Paint latex adhesive on the back of hooked rugs to secure pile. Trim the base 32mm from the outer loops. Sew 50mm wide binding tape on the right side of the rug. Butt its edge up to the outer loops and make a running stitch with carpet twine 3mm from the tape edge. Fold the tape onto the back of the rug and hemstitch it to the rug base.

At corners, fold the excess tape into neat miters.

Caring for the rug

Shake the rug outdoors regularly to get rid of grit; vacuum it frequently. Knotted rugs can be dry-cleaned, but latex-backed hooked rugs cannot because the cleaning solvent dissolves the latex