CIRCLES and STARS



Thanks to a couple of my newbie rug hooking followers I've had a couple questions asked.  This is great to be able to actually help with subjects presently in the mind of someone.

Question:  "How do you hook a circle... do you start on the outer edges or in the middle".

Answer:  You start the circle just inside the line drawing (not on the line) so that the circle or motif won't swell to a larger size.  Here are two rugs to demonstrate; first is Lollipop Bouquet, a design attributed to Magdalena Briner (with a flash).  The circles (all 66 of them) measure between 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" in diameter.  They were all hooked using #8 wool strips (1/4" wide strip).

And a close up of some circles shows some closer hooked strips if the wool was thin and more rounded if the wool was a nice lofty strip. 

Since I used wool from my worm basket used what was there so there was a fair amount of thinner wool which I wouldn't normally use to hook with but had it so used it.  After all, that is what Magdalena would have done.

Another rug with circles is Crow Sampler, a design by Ali Strebel.  I did, however, take some creative license as I put the circles all around the perimeter of the rug and not just the top half of the rug.  Here is the rug in full view.

Here is a close up of some hooked circles.  Again, the circles were 1 1/4" in diameter and were hooked using #8 (1/4") wool strips.  I hooked just inside the line, came around and ended my strip in the same hole where I started with the tail up.  Then I'd start my next color starting in a different location than where the other color was started.  Usually I go for the opposite side to start the other color.  Then the center was a tail up, loop and tail up.

 

And often people will ask if you start a star on the tip or where.  If you want a really sharp pointed star you can start and end at the point.  However, you don't know where the length of wool strip will take you and it might not end at the next point.  I don't get anal about it and normally start on the inside dent and hook until the color runs out and then start another strip.  Again you would want to start hooking JUST inside the star's lines so it doesn't grow.

Question:  Which cut is to be used for which design or is it personal Preference and what do the numbers mean?

Answer:  Cut size is a matter of personal preference..... HOWEVER, some designs do dictate how narrow the cut should be.  I like primitive designs but if it is an eye of a dog (take for instance Shadow) I hooked the eye in a smaller cut than the #8 I used for her hair, nose, etc. 

The numbers refer to the (width) of a wool strip.  Cutter manufacturers assign numbers to them and that is why I refer to the #8 (my first desired strip size) and my new favorite is the #8.5.  Here is a breakdown in incremental measurements that will help you understand the WIDTH of a strip:

·          #2 cut = (2/32-inch) = 1/16-inch

·          #3 cut = (3/32-inch)

·          #4 cut = (4/32-inch) = 1/8-inch

·          #5 cut = (5/32-inch)

·          #6 cut = (6/32-inch)

·          #7 cut = (7/32-inch)

·          #8 cut = (8/32-inch) = 1/4-inch

·          #8.5 cut = (10/32-inch)

·          #9 cut = (12/32-inch) = 3/8-inch

·         #10 cut = (16/32-inch) = 1/2-inch

And there is another part of Annie's question which I will answer on another post as this is getting rather lengthy. 

If anyone has questions they'd like answered, please feel free to write me at saundra125@comcast.net.  Have a great evening everyone.

Saundra