Traditional Rug Hooking using Upcycled Wool

It's always my objective to work recycled and/or 'upcycled' materials into my crafting, artwork and home decor. Traditional rug hooking involves cutting wool fabric (or yarn) into thin strips and then pulling small loops of the fabric through a backing material (usually linen or burlap) using a crochet-type hook. The combination of colours and loop angles make the patterns come to life. This technique is not to be confused latch hooking, which uses a hinged hook and short, pre-cut yarn to create a knotted pile somewhat reminiscent of 70's shag carpeting. Groovy... but not my bag, baby! At least not this week... ; 

Photography by Shirley Chaiken, used under Creative Commons license.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rugaction.jpg

What wonderful potential for upcycling previously-loved – even torn or damaged – textiles!

My latest experiment begins with a trip to one of my fave places... the thrift store! What can I say, I love spelunking through other peoples' castoffs. My mission: to procure 100% pure virgin wool fabrics in a variety of colours in order to create my first hooked rug. I scored big time! 8 skirts – purchased during a 50% off sale – all for under $25.

Seam ripper in hand, all were disassembled and then the pieces fulled (machine wash with detergent in hot water, cold rinse, dried on high setting), all of which took approximately three hours. Since these were secondhand clothes, tearing down the pieces and getting them into the hot water wash should be done as quickly as possible, to avoid the possibility of surviving critters (moth eggs etc.) on the garments being introduced into your home. 

Removing pleats and darts is somewhat labour intensive, but makes for a much higher fabric yield. One longer, fully pleated skirt provided a full yard of bright red pure wool for $5.00. Also a lovely pale yellow – a fantastic find as the lighter colours are more challenging to come by (at least in secondhand form).

So begins my wool stash! 8 lovely colours... to be cut into strips and lovingly hooped through burlap.

Not to mention other items I was able to salvage from these discounted duds... such as these lovely additions to my button stash! (And, of course, my zipper-stache...)

Next up, cutting strips, and more strips... and some more strips after that. Can't afford the strip cutter at present, so I will have to make do with my trusty rotary cutter. Also, the next 50% off sale is in three days... time to incorporate some patterned wools into the stash. These will help create gradients and subtler tones. Still working on a pattern, waiting for the colours to 'speak' to me. Let's see what they say! 

And speaking of saying... got Feedback? Advice? Ideas? Please leave a comment or drop me an email. Spammers, however, will be hung from their toenails and flogged with a suitably repurposed garden hose.