by Diana Blake
Gray
Master Rugmaker
Hooked rugs are the most well documented of the traditional rugs, but for all of the rug hooking books,
very little has been written about the hooks themselves. Rug hooks as we think of them really didn't come into use until the Arts
and Crafts period in the 1890s. At that time there was enough interest in rug hooking that needle manufacturers began to produce a
standardized item called a rug hook.
Typically, these hooks had wooden handles, a centered shaft with a hook and a steel collar at
the base of the handle. The hook itself had a strong resemblance to a crochet hook. Prior to that time, rug hooks were handmade individually.
In the 1700s, blacksmiths made rug hooks just as they made all sorts of other household implements. Using a piece of small steel rod--either
round or square--the hook was crafted at one end and the shaft bent at the other. These hooks did not have wooden handles. Instead,
the hooker held the shaft to guide the tip and the curved end fit around the hand. These hooks did not require a tight grip since
force of the hand itself provided the pulling action for each loop.
The photograph shows three of these typical handmade rug hooks
from the 18th century. Note that the hook ends are quite different as they likely came from different blacksmiths. Two are made of
square rod and one of round rod. One hook shows signs of being shaped by a punch, while the others were cut into the rod. Many hooks
of this age survive but often go unrecognized since they are so unlike modern rug hooks. For being well over 200 years old, these
old rug hooks still work and are surprisingly comfortable in the hand. Being steel, they show a lot of rust pitting as befits their
age and all of them show signs of being well used.
In the first half of the 19th century, the curved shank had given way to a layered
handle, similar to the way knives were made. In the photograph is an ivory handled, hand forged steel rug hook from about 1820. The
hook is made in a single piece with a flattened steel plate in the handle, overlaid with a piece of ivory on each side. Note how irregularly
the shank is tapered, and the tool marks on it. (The ivory is most likely whale ivory.) Handles were also faced with wood, bone and
horn.
By the middle of the 1800s, handmade rug hooks show up with a separate hook attached to a wooden handle: the enclosed shaft
through the handle being eliminated. The design closely followed the changes in woodworking and leather working tools. Of the two
examples shown, one has whittled handle (notice the knife marks) and the other handle was turned on a lathe--though not very expertly--and
the lathe marks are visible at the end. The hooks themselves are handmade from round steel rod and show tool marks from being worked
by a blacksmith. Neither hook is exactly centered in the handle. The hooks show rust pitting as is typical of steel tools of that
age.
Rug hooks created from other tools are also common from this period. Most often they are cut down button hooks, but also ice
picks and cutlery were recycled into rug hooks. By about the 1870s, crochet had gained enough traction as respectable handwork that
needle manufacturers began to offer mass-produced, steel crochet hooks along with knitting pins (what we call knitting needles). The
crochet hooks had a straight shaft with turned finials and were offered in somewhat larger sizes than the early crochet hooks used
for lace work. These larger hooks were quite suitable for rug hooking, but they lacked a handle. That was not a problem for rug hookers
of the era, they simply added their own handle, usually of leather, to the metal hooks.
The leather was glued to the steel hooks with
hide glue (the strongest glue available) and wrapped around the steel shaft of the needle. While perfectly serviceable, eventually
the glue dried out and the handle came off, leaving a tell-tale ring of rust around the shaft. Crochet hooks were also wrapped with
rags, yarn and string to form a handle for a rug hook. The photo shows an example of a hook with the rust ring. In contrast, hooks
that were used for crochet developed rust all over, fairly uniformly, like the other hook shown. Commercial steel and brass crochet
hooks were also cut down and inserted into wooden handles for use as rug hooks and these can resemble the earlier handmade hooks.
The shape of the hook itself identifies it as a modified crochet hook, and though correctly identified as a handmade rug hook, they
are not as rare as the hooks made by a blacksmith. The end of the wooden handles were often wrapped with fine wire to keep the wood
from splitting. Occasionally a steel ring was fitted around the end of a handle for the same purpose. It was these sorts of combination
handmade hooks became the model for the later, commercially-made, rug hooks.
With the popularity of rug hooking during the Arts and
Crafts period, the steel ring became the familiar full steel collar and manufacturers of crochet hooks used turned wooden handles
for their mass marketed rug hooks. In hooks of this era, the glue holding the steel collar to the wood dried out over time so it is
not unusual to find a hook without its collar, or wrapped with wire or string to replace the collar. The clue to dating these early
commercial hooks is the uniformity of the handle and the perfectly shaped hook. Higher quality rug hooks included a pin to hold the
steel collar in place.
Some manufacturers embossed their names on the steel collars or on the handle. Those marks are really the only
way to firmly identify hooks from the 1890-1920 period because the design and materials used in rug hooks has changed so little in
the last hundred years.
How to Make Your Own 1870s Style Rug Hook
There are lots of different materials you can use to make your own
rug hook using this technique and there are a lot of old crochet hooks available at thrift and craft stores so you can experiment
and develop your own style just like the hookers did over a century ago.
Supplies: A steel crochet hook in the desired size (00 to
5 work well);
wide adhesive tape or other cloth tape;
thin leather (glove leather is ideal)., ultrasuede or cloth for wrapping;
heavy
wool fabric or felt for padding (optional);
craft glue;
rubber bands; thread for wrapping.
1. Use only porous cloth tape such as adhesive
tape. Shown is Johnson & Johnson's "Coach Tape" which is 1.5 inches wide so it doesn't have to be trimmed. Cut a four inch length
of tape and place it straight on the shaft of the hook. One edge should be centered in the flattened spot on modern crochet hooks.
2. Roll the tape around the hook three times making sure that it is absolutely straight and tight.
3. Cut a piece of leather 5.5 inches
long and wide enough to extend at least .5 inch past the edge of the adhesive tape. Overlap the leather centered on top of the adhesive
as shown.
4. Once the glue is applied, you'll need to work fast. Cover the leather heavily with craft glue from edge to edge. Wait
15 seconds for the glue to start absorbing, then roll the leather tightly around the hook, making sure it is straight. Hold it in
place and use the rubber bands to hold the ends as shown. Immediately take a very wet cloth or paper towel and wipe off the whole
handle to remove any excess glue.
5. Let the hook dry overnight. Then remove the rubber bands and trim the ends of the leather so
they are straight and neat looking. Coat just the ends with craft glue and wrap neatly with a heavy thread (3-ply linen is shown).
Remove any excess glue gently with a damp cloth.
6. When the glue is dry (an hour or two), trim any thread ends. A finishing coat
of penetrating oil or leather sealer can be applied.
For the option padding, cut a piece of heavy wool fabric or felt 1.5 inches wide
(like the adhesive tape) and 2 inches long. When the adhesive tape is attached to the hook (Step 2), overlap the cloth onto the tape.
Then overlap the leather (Step 3) on the cloth about an inch, using craft glue to hold them together. Then proceed with Step 4 apply
the craft glue to both the cloth and the leather.