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Antique Floral, 92″ x 32″, #6- to 8-cut wool on linen. Designed by Emma Lou Lais and hooked by Susan Jankowski, Neenah, Wisconsin, 2024.
When I started rug hooking in 2001, I discovered dip-dyed wool. I was hooked, and I purchased it at hooking events and everywhere I could find it. I accumulated a nice collection. A few years later, while at a shop in Iowa, I found this beautiful pattern. Immediately, I knew that my collection of dip-dyed wool would work perfectly for this pattern, especially because of the floral motifs.
My favorite part of this pattern is that it is a mirrored image. I started in the center, then continued to the next flower, then turned the pattern and hooked the same flower on the other side of the center. I continued doing this until the center of the rug was finished, making sure to balance the colors and hook in some background as I went. The flowers on the border are the same as the flowers in the center, only smaller, so I hooked them with the same colors. Because I color planned the rug as I was hooking it, I learned that it is important to balance the colors to keep your eyes moving around the rug.
As I hooked more and more, the rug was getting quite heavy. I was worried that the pattern might get misshapen. To help with this, while the rug was on my frame, I placed a small table behind my frame. I rolled up the rug that was hanging be hind my frame and placed it on the table. That helped a great deal and also took some stress off the linen.
After hooking and steaming the rug, I sewed long, black strips of wool approximately six feet by four inches together like a quilt binding. I sewed in some cording, then hand sewed it to the rug from the front. When this was completed, I turned the rug over and hand sewed the other edge of the wool strip to the back of the rug. I finished with a final steaming. This rug was truly a ten-year labor of love!
From the Judges:
Gold star for color! A traditional pattern is turned into a showstopper with this interpretation.
Susan Jankowski
NEENAH, WISCONSIN
Susan has been rug hooking since 2001. She received her McGown teaching accreditation in 2023. She had the honor of having one of her rugs on the cover of the September/October 2015 issue of Rug Hooking. Three of her other rugs have been in other books by RHM: Rug Hooking Journeys: Finding the Maker in the Rug, Designed by You: Ideas and Inspiration for Rug Hookers, and Hooking Fairy Tales.