My imagination has been opened to more possibilities for using fabric strips and yarn after taking Trickster Textiles, a Shakerag workshop with fiber artist, Liv Aanrud.
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| Rug hooking with knit fabric strips. |
In the workshop, Liv taught us to draw and make marks with strips of fabric and yarn and rug-making hooks. I had not done rug hooking before, but this traditional fiber technique is a very approachable craft and is easy to get started doing. With a short demonstration, all the beginners in the class were covering canvases with loops of colorful fabrics.
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| Rug hooking with flannel and knit fabric strips. |
The fabric strips were cut between 1/4” to a scant 1/2” wide. Have you tried rug hooking with knit fabrics or flannel? I was able to upcycle knit scraps from past garment projects. The knit prints make especially interesting patterns.
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| Knit strips cut for rug hooking. |
In addition to knit fabrics, I used flannel, wool, and wool blend fabrics in the piece I was making.
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| “Weather Patterns” |
Contemporary and traditional experiences converge
Liv, the workshop instructor, offered several presentations during the workshop that showed her own work as well as other artists in the field. With formal art degrees—a BA in painting and an MFA—Liv brought a contemporary perspective to creating pieces that blurred the line between paintings and textiles.
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| Liv Aanrud discussed her work and work of other textile artists in class presentations. |
Serendipitously, we also had Cass, a traditional rug hooker with years of hooking experience, as a fellow student in our class. Cass shared traditional hooking principles, a few of her tools, and technical aspects of the craft with several of the newbies. The convergence of perspectives made for a richer experience.
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| Liv Aanrud (left) and Cass discussing Cass’s project. |
Class exhibit
A display of student work from the workshop...
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| Student work from Trickster Textiles workshop. |
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| Student work from Trickster Textiles workshop. |
A new tool in the toolboxI've now added a rug hook to my toolbox and will be thinking about acquiring a frame/stretcher bars. The knit scraps from garment sewing will find their way into new projects with this technique.
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| New composition: painted monk's cloth, hooking and needle punching with fabric and yarn. |
Tracker update
I've added another category—"hooking"—to my Create Daily tracker, and my Make Nine "Learn More in '24" prompt will be fulfilled when a hooked piece is completed.
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| Create Daily tracker for 2024 now includes a hooking category. |
