Hi guys, this is the process of how I made a latch hook rug. I changed the carpet in my room to flooring. I wanted to add an area rug but there weren’t many options for me to choose from. So, I figured why not make one. It could be whatever size I wanted, which at the time was a 4 1/2’ x 5 1/2’ rug. I went on Amazon and ordered 2 mesh canvases, latch hooks, and 10 rolls of yarn. I also bought a 5’x8’ rug pad from Ross. Make sure that your yarn isn’t too thin. I cut pieces of yarn to be 2 1/2”. I would cut a couple of 20” pieces, cut it in half making it 10”, and cut it in half 2 more times making it 2 1/2”.
I found a better method after my 6th roll of yarn. I cut 2 pieces of cardboard at 2 1/4” x 4”. I cut a smaller piece at 1 1/4” x 3”. I glued the smaller piece between the 2 strips. Then, I wrapped my yarn around it and held the yarn down before cutting it. To attach the yarn, I used the rows of the canvas that looked more durable. I left 4 rows on all sides. Place the hook under and up 1 of the squares. The latch should be open. With the yarn under the hook, align the ends to find the center. Pull the hook down slightly, so that the yarn can go under the latch.
Bring the yarn to 1 side, up, and across. Next, pull the hook down and the ends of the yarn should go through the loop created. It should look like a reverse lark's head knot. Continue doing this and make sure that all the knots face the same direction. Since I planned on making a large rug, I knew that I'd need to connect 2 pieces of mesh canvas. To speed up the process, here’s what I started doing. I aligned the ends of the yarn before placing the hook through it.
I faced my hook away from the other pieces of yarn, turned it slightly to catch the yarn and turned it back before pulling the hook through the loop. I attached 3 or 4 pieces of yarn, then pulled them all tight at once. After a roll of yarn, I realized that this would take months and I wouldn’t have enough yarn. So, I decided to make a runner rug, that would be a 5 1/2 ft x 1 1/2 ft. Halfway through making this, I ordered a shag area rug from Target. But I still wanted to finish this rug. So, this rug might end up going in another room. I also decided to add a design, but something not too busy.
I made double x’s and double triangles. I also made this cross cross pattern. I later changed it because it didn’t seem like it matched the other 2 symbols. So, I made double diamonds. It’s like the other half of the double triangles and has the double x’s in it. I connected the 2 canvases by overlapping the 4 rows. With a needle and thread, I combined them with a whip stitch. I stitched 2 rows and cut off the extra rows. Then, I attached the yarn through both layers. For the edges, I folded over 2 rows and sewed the 2 layers together using a whip stitch.
I cut the corners and overlapped the sides. You could do this step at the beginning of making your rug, if you already know how big you’re going to make it. Next, I latch hooked the 2 rows around all the sides. I ended using 9 rolls of yarn. You definitely should add a rug pad or some kind of grip for this, so that it doesn’t slide and here’s how it turned out. This took me a month to make. If you do decide try latch hooking, I’d suggest making a small rug or tapestry..
