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Robin’s Rose - by Robin Price
|  11-26-2008 09:55 PM
| | | | Themes: | Home Decor Crafts, Mother's Day Crafts, Spring Craft Projects, Summer Craft Projects | | Suggested Age: | Adult | | Introduction: | My grandmother taught me the art of rug hooking when I was young. She
believed it was her duty to teach her granddaughters the domestic arts.
Sewing, knitting, crochet, quilting, and darning a sock properly were high
on her list. Rug hooking was saved until I was a teenager.
For more great rug hooking projects and ideas visit <a href="http://rughookingmagazine.com" target=_blank">http://rughookingmagazine.com</a> | | Materials: | WOOL
• 1/4 yd for small size for background
color
• 3 – 4" x 14" strips for flower color
1 light value
1 medium value
1 dark value
• 3 – 4" x 14" strips for leaves
• several cut strips for flower centers
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
• foundation backing
• iron-on binding tape
• iron
• edges, strips of yarn
• crochet hook size US 2 | My grandmother hooked with any fabric as long as it was the correct color. I thought her flower rugs were beautiful, but I felt at my age they were “older lady designs.” So my first rug was a peace sign! Well, I love flower rugs now, so I guess I have become that older lady. I am a grandmother now after all! These little mats are a great way to use up leftovers. At first I got my strips of reds or plums together and hooked them at random. Then friends and students wanted to make one, so I needed a plan. I wanted to create a pattern that would teach color value and hooking technique. The end result is an adaptation of one of my penny rug designs that originated from grandmother’s appliqué of her “too fat for hooking” wools in the flower power days. Drawing the Pattern
I use a backing that will work for #7 or #8 cuts; holes in your backing that are too small will strain your wrist when pulling the wool through. If you are not sure if the backing you have will work, hook a few rows of the cut you want to use. See how the tension on your wrist feels and if the loops lie properly. The original size of this oval pattern is
9
1/2" x 11", but you can choose any size you wish. I start drawing by making a plus sign in the middle of the foundation to find the center. I draw a circle for the placement of flowers centered over the lines of the plus sign. You can decide here if you want a circle or an oval. Make sure the flowers are spaced evenly apart. I use a lid or cup as a circle template. I also measure in inches from the center of the plus sign to the flowers. Balance is important in this design. Draw all four of the flower circles.
A template for leaves can be cut on a folded piece of paper. The fold marks the vein of the leaf. I play around with the shape and size until I find the most pleasing combination. The shape I like is similar to an elongated heart, but in this version of the rug, I’ve used a more pointed oval shape. Cut out the leaf on the fold, and then
open the fold to get your leaf template. Once I’m certain I like the shape, I cut out three more leaves and place them next to the two flowers on the bottom half of the rug. Then I trace around the leaf templates. You will want your leaf to touch the flower, and you’ll need to add a space between the leaves where they point to each other.
Draw the remaining leaves. Remember to keep the design balanced.
Choosing Flower Colors
The main concern here is value. Dark recedes and light or bright comes forward. You can use any combination of colors, but they must be light, medium, or dark values.
For your swatch, chose any floral color. For example, the red family includes colors from pink to burgundy. Whatever color family you choose, be sure that the light and dark present a significant jump in value to define the flower. You want to see a difference in value, but you don’t want the color change to stick out like a sore thumb or
clash. I like to lay the colors next to each other to see if they are pleasing to the eye. I lay several combinations of wool out and pick a favorite. You can also purchase a swatch, just be sure to skip values.
For the rug featured in this article, I chose an over-dyed plaid in pink for the light, a solid red for the medium, and a spot dye for the dark.
Hooking the Flowers
I start by drawing three open horseshoes or Cs on the edge of the circle flower (see the illustration). Next I color in the flower center, remembering to avoid a bull’s-eye effect by shaping it a bit. I find a flower center
that’s a little off kilter looks best.
Next I draw the same open horseshoes around the flower center three times, being sure to draw these off center in relationship to the outside horseshoes. These horseshoe-shaped lines mark the light and dark hooking areas. Next I hook the horseshoes on the outside with the dark value. The horseshoes on the inside I hook with the light value. I fill in the rest with the medium value. You can randomly hook light and
dark values here and there to fill up spaces or add interest. This is also the place to add another value, if needed. I use mostly leftover strips, and if I run out of one color, I use a color that is almost the same to fill in. I hook the center with a check or plaid. I like yellows or bright greens. Sometimes just a few loops of a contrasting color around the edge of the center adds a little spark and diminishes the bull’s-eye effect.
Hooking the Leaves
I choose my leaf colors after I have finished the roses. My stash of greens is laid out one at a time and I pick several that I think will work. Then I lay them around the edges and pick my favorite. This point is where I decide if I want a dark or light background. The value of the
leaves will usually tell me what is needed for a background that “pops” the flowers. If my leaves are dark, I use a light background so my flowers won’t get lost. I try to have the greatest contrast between motifs and background colors so the motifs really stand out. The outline of the leaves is hooked first, and then I hook the veins with leftover flower colors. I like to mix them up or use what looks best with the green. I then fill in the rest with green. Leftovers are great for leaves. I pick out colors that go together, and then mix them up and hook them randomly. If you have a bunch of leftover strips that don’t
quite go together, put them in a pot on the stove and cook them in a regular dye bath to blend all of the colors together. Don’t forget the vinegar! You can also over dye strips to blend colors together.
Hooking the Background
I start on the inside edge of the leaves and flowers and work toward the center using the echoing method. Be careful not to stretch the wool too much or the center may pucker. Always keep your pattern
stretched evenly with the weft and warp of your foundation. Hook very precisely around the border of the rug to make even rows, as this will be the edge of the mat. Three or four rows will do.
Finishing
For binding, I use an iron-on binding tape,
1/2" wide. I iron the tape down on the foundation as close to the hooking as possible, leaving the paper on. I fold the tape in the corners to keep the correct shape, and then cut off the foundation next to the edge of the binding tape. After I remove the paper, I then fold the binding tape onto itself and iron again. This gives me a 1/4" folded border all around my rug.
I then single crochet mohair yarn around the edges in about every other hole. You can also roll and whip the edges with yarn or wool strips. Crocheting with wool strips is another option.
Conclusion
These are fun and fast little rugs to work on, and they make the best gifts. Friends and relatives love them. I know my grandmother is smiling down at me every time I make one! But alas, I still have many more
leftovers.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Robin Price became a certified McGown teacher in 1995.
ROBIN’S ROSE is a free pattern, her gift to you. Please acknowledge that it is a Robin’s Rugg pattern: ww.robinsruggs.com.
| | Tags: | None |
| Replies to Craft Project: Robin’s Rose - by Robin Price | | Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Lewisville, Texas
Posts: 3
 
 | |  Re: Robin’s Rose - by Robin Price |
04-17-2009, 08:55 AM
#1 |
Thank you for telling us how to do this, but I'm with the first crafter... what if we don't know what it means? Some illustrations or photos would be GREAT!! Thanks so much, kind lady!! | | | | | Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: North Central Florida
Posts: 9
| | Re: Robin’s Rose - by Robin Price |
12-05-2008, 09:45 AM
#2 |
Good morning,
Please forgive my ignorance, but what is rug hooking? I crochet and knit, and your project is simply so beautiful, that I was thinking perhaps I could learn another craft. Is it very difficult to do? How long did your Rose Project take you to complete? | | | | | Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 223
| | Re: Robin’s Rose - by Robin Price |
12-03-2008, 07:38 AM
#3 |
Beautiful, you did a great job. I had an uncle who use to do rugs, did some very nice ones too | | | |
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