How Will That Wool Hook Up?

A sampler is a great project to use for reference, whether you are a beginner or a seasoned rug hooker. While it may seem easy to envision how a tweed will hook, it's not always as obvious when you're hooking a plaid or a stripe.
 
Samplers are not a new idea. In fact, many other fiber arts, like crochet, embroidery and knitting use samplers (or swatches) to create a sort of scrapbook of stitches and ideas. The benefits of rug hooking samplers are often touted at camps and workshops. I designed my first sampler to see how plaid and checked wools would hook. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my end result was more than just a functional rug. It was a very interesting-looking rug hooking experiment.

This article is from the March/April/May 2010 issue. For more information on our issues, check out our issues page.