Gene’s Rug Hooking Blog

This question just came in from Wendy and it seemed like a good topic to answer on the blog.

I seem to be a slow hooker.  I am on my first rug, but it seems to take a long time.  Do you think I will speed up as time goes by?  Would you have any tips on how to increase my speed?

Wendy:

We usually don’t have to call out the wool police to slow down new rug hookers because of their speed.  And, when learning, I would say that getting your technique honed is more important than covering ground.  Still, it can be frustrating to not make as much progress as one would like.    Generally speaking, experience does eventually improve speed.  I always say that a new hooker needs to pull about 500,000 loops before they get too concerned about their speed. While I can’t say, without seeing you actually hook, why you are going slower than you want, here are some general observations I have made over the years on this topic.

1. Are you using the right hook? I mention this, not because I sell hooks, but because I started having hooks made for students who needed better tools that were suited to their needs.  For example, I just talked to a frustrated hooker who was trying to hook very wide cuts with a fine pencil hook.  She could not understand why she was having so much trouble.  Her problem was based on the fact that she needed a different hook that had a large shaft to open up her backing, thereby making it easier for her to pull those large loops.  Cheap beginner hooks, which tend to be the kind that comes in kits, are often not well suited for the project at hand.  They usually have skinny little shafts and tiny little hook points – I would go slower if I have to use them.  Additionally, I do think a bent hook also allows me to hook faster because there is less space between the hook and the fabric; it lessens tension in my arm and wrist and has a handle that is easier to grip.

2. Is your backing properly stretched on the frame? Backing should be taunt – that allows the hook to move in and out better.  Loose backing that flops around while you are trying to hook will only slow down the process, as there is too much give.

3.  What size cut are you using? If you are using a #3 or a #4, it will take longer to fill a space than it does when hooking with a #6 or #8.  I usually put beginners on a #6 cut project, as it’s fairly easy to hold that cut and pull it. (My fingers are such that I can’t really feel if a #3 or #4 is twisting in my hand, so it slows me down to check.) A #6 also covers, with every loop, twice as much ground as a #3 does.  Beginners need to get through a project in fairly short order.

4.  Do you have a system for pulling your loops? Some times new rug hookers approach each loop as if it is a whole new experience, instead of figuring out their system and applying it to every loop.  Pointing my hook in the direction I want my loop to lay, I stick in my hook, lay the wool on top, over pull through the backing, and then readjust to a consistent height of the last or adjacent loop.  I do every loop that way … with out having to think about it.

5. Are you too critical of your work? Some new hookers angst over every loop they pull … sometimes, pulling out and re-hooking sections over and over.  While I am very big on technique, you do need to pull those 500,000 loops without being overly critical of yourself.  It is like learning to skate or ride a bicycle – there is a certain amount of falling and wobbling that has to take place before you can hit your natural stride.  I believe in prayer, but do not think you should pray over every loop.

6.  What is your set up? Just like Track and Field athletes wear special clothes and shoes for an event, I think our chair, frame and posture make a difference.  I can hook much faster (and better) when sitting with good posture in an office chair that rolls and adjusts for height, at a floor frame that rotates.  Sure, I can hook on the couch while balancing a lap frame, it just slows me down.

7.  Some people are just slower than others. This is fine, as hooking is supposed to be an enjoyable artistic pleasure, not a contest.

After saying all of that, I will show a photo of my Double Cross project.

This whole section was supposed to get done during the Super Bowl … and it probably would have if I had actually hooked during the event.  However, I got busy doing other things and never pulled a loop.  Therefore, speed is not much good if you don’t actually  pull some loops.

Parakeet Update: The babies in box #1 are just fine.  Box #3 now has an egg.