How to Make Sharp Corners on Rugs

For the life of me I can't remember if I've done a newbie lesson on this before or not but it seems vaguely familiar. 

AH HA!  Just decided to 'search' my own blog and noticed that I DID mention this in passing and it referred to this geometric which has since been fully hooked and bound.  Here is a picture where you can see  some of the blocks ended up with rounded edges and a few with crisp ones.  I started the rug, got bored and stuck it away for over 5 years.  In between time I learned how to make sharp, crisp corners.

Here is a picture of how the corner would look to hook along one side, turn and continue hooking down the other direction but between the same threads in that row.  In this photo at that angle it looks sorta okay.

Here is what it looks like from a topical view and you can see the corner has a curve.  Now, if that is the look you are trying to achieve that is great.

However, IF you wish to have a sharp edge at the four corners of your rug here is what you do.

Depending on the size strip you are working with and the foundation of choice it might be 1, 2, or 3 holes or maybe every other.  But whatever rhythm you develop as your style when it comes to the corner you need to hook to the end of that row, turn, and hook one row (hole) INSIDE and down the other direction. 

In the photos ABOVE I turned and continued hooking in the other direction between the same threads rather than in one thread inside.

In the photos BELOW I hooked a loop one thread BEYOND where I wanted my side hooking to continue. You can see the hole made to accommodate the new loop going downward.  That would be the row just inside and just between the next two threads inward.  Geez, I'm trying so hard to get the wording in different ways so I'm understood.

 Here you can see a nice sharp corner.

 And here that corner is again up close.

This example is good for geometrics, corners of rugs, and heck am sure many applications.  Again, it depends on the result you are looking for.  I've hooked mats where I DID want a curved corner or gentle curve around a motif but then it was planned and my corners were really curved.

Another thing too is touch the wool strip underneath and know which way it feels like under the foundation.  The corner is also determined by which way you twist the wool strip on your hook under the foundation.  Do it one way, hook another loop or two and if you don't like what you see then pull the loops out and twist the wool in the other direction and continue.  This is after all the only time you'd purposely twist a loop of wool under your foundation...... that would be the direction change.

Have a fantastic evening everyone.  Wonder if fall will arrive a little early this season since there has been unusual low humidity and cooler days earlier in the season.  Sure hope it doesn't mean lots of freezing rain and snow for the winter.

If anyone has questions or topics they'd like for me to cover on my blog, please write me and I'll see if I can find the answer to help.  Just remember that all of us were newbies once.  There were no people close to me when first I held a hook in my hand.  I'm happy to guide you on your way to having fun.  Believe me when I say that I'm not happy unless I'm hooking every day.

Have a great evening and please be kind to one another.  Life is far too short to not enjoy what time we have here with each other.

Saundra