Have you ever wondered what rug hooking jargon means? Check out this glossary of all the terms you need to know without any extra researching!
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
- Allover: A freestyle hooking technique that fills large areas in a rug background by using squiggly lines or repetitive curlicues. Alternative names include higgledy-piggledy, annagogglin, antigoglin, bundling, and meandering.
B
- Background: The parts of a design surrounding the main motif or subject, often requiring more loops or punches to cover.
- Backing Fabric: The base fabric onto which fibers are hooked or punched. Common choices are monk’s cloth, burlap, and linen.
- Backing: An additional fabric layer applied to the back of a completed piece for durability.
- Binding: The edges of rugs need to be finished in a way that protects the exposed edge from wear and supports the outside row of loops. Binding methods include sewing flat ribbon-like bindings, whipping edges with yarn, or decorative techniques like crochet or braiding.
- Blocking: The process of wetting and reshaping a finished piece to lay flat.
- Body: The main portion of the rug containing most design elements. Some rugs lack a border, making the body the entire image.
- Border: The area surrounding the main body of the rug. Borders can visually contain the inner design and complement it. Designs may vary in width or style, including geometric motifs or stylized edges.
- Burlap: A less durable, more affordable option for beginners, though it can fray over time.
C
- Carding Strips: The sharp metal teeth in rug hooking frames that hold the backing taut, often causing rug rash.
- Cat’s Paw: A basic bull’s-eye shape with a small triangle of color in the center, surrounded by concentric circular rows of different colors. Also known as millefleur.
- Color Planning: The process of selecting colors for a piece, often based on color theory or specific themes.
- Cut Size: The width of the fabric strip used in hooking, ranging from fine to wide cuts. For instance, #3 (fine) to #8 (wide).
- Cut: Refers to the width of a wool strip, ranging from narrow #3 cuts to wide #8 cuts.
D
- Depth Setting: Adjustable settings on some punch needle tools that control the height of loops by varying the needle’s penetration depth.
- Dummy Board: A solid backing cut from wood or similar material to support a hooked piece. Common subjects include people, pets, or Santa Claus.
E
F
- Fine Cut: Narrower strips of fabric (like #3 or #4) used for detailed designs.
- Fingering: A method of blending two or more values or colors using interlocking wool strips to create subtle transitions.
- Foundation: The base fabric, often burlap or linen, onto which loops are hooked. Sometimes referred to as backing.
- Frame or Hoop: A tool that holds the backing fabric taut while hooking or punching. Frames are generally used for larger pieces, while hoops work well for smaller projects.
G
- Gauge: Refers to the thickness of the yarn or thread, impacting the texture and appearance of the project.
H
- Holiday: An empty space in the rug, usually unintentional; a few missed holes.
- Hooker: A humorous term often used to describe someone who hooks rugs.
I
J
L
- Lamb’s Ears, Lamb’s Tongue: Decorative U-shaped flaps of wool stitched around rug edges or layered within a design.
- Linen: A high-quality, durable backing fabric used in both crafts, especially rug hooking.
- Loop: The shape formed by pulling yarn or thread through the backing fabric in both rug hooking and punch needle. It creates the pile of the finished piece.
M
- Mat: Another word for a hooked rug, commonly used in Canada.
- Monk’s Cloth: A popular choice for punch needle due to its durable weave, allowing for easy penetration.
- Motif: An element that is the focus of the rug or repeated throughout the design, such as a flower.
N
- Needle Felting: A craft using a barbed needle to press colored roving into a fabric backing like wool or denim.
- Needle Size: Refers to the thickness of the punch needle, which varies based on the weight of the yarn or thread being used.
- Noodles: Leftover cut wool strips, also called worms.
O
P
- Padula, Pedula: A term for ambiguous or imaginary flower forms not based on specific flowers.
- Pattern Transfer: Methods for transferring a design onto the backing fabric, such as tracing with carbon paper or using a lightbox.
- Pennies: Concentric circles cut out of wool and layered atop a black wool background to create patterns.
- Poison: A color that contrasts the main scheme to add visual interest and spark.
- Primitive Cut: Wider strips of fabric (like #6, #8) for simpler, traditional patterns.
- Proddy: A technique using wide-cut wool strips pulled or pushed from the back to create a shaggy appearance.
- Punch Hooking: A style of rug hooking using a special tool to push yarn into a backing to form loops.
- Punched Side vs. Looped Side: The punched side is where the needle enters the fabric, while the looped side is the front, where the design shows.
Q
R
- Reverse Hooking: Pulling out hooking done in error or, in Canada, hooking from the back to create special effects.
- Ribbon Candy: Hooking loops that form even up-and-down lines resembling the candy of the same name.
- Rug Hook: A handheld tool with a hooked end used to pull yarn or fabric strips through the backing fabric.
S
- Shading: Techniques to create dimension or gradients by varying colors in adjacent loops.
- Snippet: Trimmed-off ends of wool strips used as stuffing or gathered as leftovers.
- Stash: The rug hooker’s supply of wool for color planning and projects.
- Stripper: A machine that cuts wool into strips.
T
- Threader: A tool that helps guide the yarn or thread through the punch needle tool.
- Turnovers: Hooked leaves that twist to show the front and back.
U
- Underlining: Lining that adds body to an article of clothing.
- Understitching: This keeps a facing or lining from rolling onto the right side of the fabric.
W
- Wool Strips: Cut pieces of wool fabric commonly used in rug hooking.
- Worms, Worm Bag: A collection of leftover wool strips used for small projects or hit-or-miss rugs.
Y
- Yarn: Often used for punch needle projects, although some yarns are also suitable for rug hooking.