Hooked on Rugs
Hooked on Rugs
See an exhibit of traditional and modern rug hooking at the Sebastopol Library. Reception Saturday, Jan. 14.
In early 19th century, industrious homemakers in Britain and the United States used to make rugs out of old woolen clothing. They’d cut a jacket or pair of woolen trousers into thin strips, pulling the loops of fabric through a stiff woven base such as burlap to create rugs for their floor, for decoration, or as extra blankets for the bed. Wikipedia traces the craft back to the days of the Vikings.
It’s a craft still practiced today, and this month the Wine Country Rug Hookers Guild has an exhibition of their members’ work at the Sebastopol Library. You can see their work—more wall hangings than rugs—and get a demonstration of rug hooking at the reception tonight, Saturday, Jan. 14, 4 to 6 pm at the library.
Rug hooking remained a popular pastime on the East Coast of the US through much of the 20th century, but it was the kind of homespun, domestic art that didn’t get much respect. That changed somewhat with the emergence of fiber arts as a form of artistic expression and the feminist elevation of traditionally female crafts into the realm of high art. (Vintage hooked rugs in the primitive style fetch high prices at auction.)
The Wine Country Rug Hookers Guild is a group of friends who have been meeting in each other’s homes once a month since the early 2000s.
“We call ourselves a guild because we're a traditional craft,” said Guild member Nancy Winn.
Although the pandemic interrupted their meeting schedule, Winn said the Guild’s intent is still the same, “To gather together in a social way and do our craft and teach each other and other people about it so we can try to keep this craft alive and well and in the public's vision.”
How hooked rugs are made
Hooked rugs are made on a frame covered by fabric with a grid-like weave. Wool fabric is cut into strips and pulled through the holes in the weave with a specialized rug hook to make little loops.
“So the whole rug is essentially a series of loops of wool that are close together,” Winn said. “Wool has a wonderful capacity to expand like blossoms and that holds it tight so that it doesn't fall out. You don't have to knot it or put any kind of glue or anything on the back; just the compression of the fibers together holds it in place.”
In spite of this, she says, “It's quite durable. They last for lots and lots of years,” especially now that people are using more durable fabric backing like linen. (Burlap disintegrates over time.)
In addition, people have branched out from wool into different types of fabric.
“People use specialty fabrics, or they'll use yarn or wool yarn,” Winn said. “Sometimes they use shiny fabrics. They incorporate beads and do all kinds of more embellished looking pieces. But the tradition is to create a scene or a geometric or something that's pleasing to you as a piece of art.”
You can buy hooked rug patterns with precut pieces, or you can make your own design. The exhibit at the library has examples of both.
Regional differences
Winn says that while the primitive style dominates rug hooking back East, “Out here on the West Coast, that doesn't fit with our aesthetic, and so we have taken the liberty of creating things that are more likely to fit into our homes.”
“It’s really a craft for making things for your home, rather than to sell,” Winn said. “People make pillows, and they make little wall hangings. They make rugs for their floors. Hooked rugs are made to embellish the home, to make it warm, to make it theirs.”
See the exhibit
The show at the library went up in early December. The opening reception was cancelled because of rain. It’s still raining, of course, but Winn said they’re going forward with the reception on Saturday evening regardless of the weather. She invites you to come to the reception this evening, Jan. 14, 4 to 6 pm, at the Sebastopol Regional Library, 7140 Bodega Ave, Sebastopol. The show will be up until Jan. 20.
To find out more about the Wine Country Rug Hookers Guild and learn about classes in rug hooking, see their website.