Hookin with yarn

Hooking with yarn has long been a tradition in places like Cheticamp Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The hooks they use are very tiny.

Here is a great website which also talks about one of the most famous Cheticamp Rug Hookers, Elizabeth LeFort: Cheticamp Rug Hooking

You can also visit the website here: Elizabeth LeFort.

I sometimes visit Cape Breton in the summer time, it is a long drive, a little over 5 hours usually, but it is a great place to visit. There are so many little rug hooking shops now, it is hard to pass by one without stopping in. I purchased patterns and wool yarn years ago and did hook a rug for my son in Cheticamp yarn.

Hooking with yarn does take longer, and the backing has to be very high quality so that the tiny loops will stay in place. Sometimes you even need to hook more than one loop of yarn in a space if that space seems to be wide and one loop is not holding well. Most Cheticamp wool is not that thick and is usually hand dyed by the sellers. The bonus is that you do not have to cut any wool on the stripper.

There are some remarkable finely shaded wool rugs in Cheticamp and many opportunities to purchase new rugs as well as the older ones.

I came across one antique rug in Cheticamp that was hooked in a diamond pattern. Very pretty and very finely crafted. I have been told that some of the older rugs from the finest rug hookers were done in this way.

Here is another great website on Cheticamp Hooked rugs: Cheticamp Rugs

The older Cheticamp rugs had the yarn dyed with natural dyes and will usually be very faded, but they are still very pretty. The Bell Pull and the Chair Pad I purchased were probably made in the 1970’s or even sooner. They have synthetic dye and are still nice and bright. I do suspect that the Bell Pull is older than the Chair pad.

Diamond Pattern on the back of the chair pad: