The Value of a Pencil Crayon Drawing

Tackling a complicated, detailed rug-hooking pattern can be daunting. Even deciding to hook something you’ve never hooked before—like fruit or flowers—can have you wondering if you will be able to do a good job. Where to start, how to get the different elements exactly right? What colors to dye or buy? Maybe you’re looking at realistic hooking.

When doing a harder piece, I often do a colored pencil drawing first to help me work out the problems and logistics before I get down to hooking. It’s a lot faster to do a pencil crayon drawing and discover potential issues than it is to hook it and have to hook it again. It also forces you to really look at the details. Doing a pencil crayon (colored pencil) drawing has the added advantage of helping you with color planning.