How to hook crooked rows not straight ones

January 2, 2008 3 comments | Updated October 2, 2019

Written by Cindi Gay

Antique Rose Runner hooked by Cindi Gay, design by Karen Kahle
Antique Rose Runner hooked by Cindi Gay, design by Karen Kahle

My focus for the last two years has been to “get crooked.” I thought I had made a breakthrough with Karen Kahle at Sauder Village in 2006. I was working on her Antique Rose Runner during the lunch break. All the other students were off eating and I was so excited about what and how I was hooking that I decided to work through lunch.

A woman came into the classroom to see what we were working on. I sat on the far side of the room. When she made her way to me, I stretched out the backing so she could get a better view. “Nice,” she mumbled. I then explained how I was concentrating on making everything crooked. She brightened up and said, “Oh, it is supposed to be that way.”

She probably felt sorry for me. This poor hooker can’t hook a straight line! BTW- if that was you, please contact me. I’d love to thank you. You changed my thinking.

I love this story because that week changed my hooking dramatically. I explained the feeling to my friends as “hooking naked.” I had no cares about what row I was hooking in. I grabbed whatever color was on top. I turned my brain off and hooked away. I had that rug finished within two weeks of coming home. I usually return from camp with less than a square foot hooked.

Day 65 room sized rug straight border lines
Day 65 room sized rug straight border lines

I applied this mindset to the design of my room sized rug in progress. The four corners are slightly different. Nothing is perfect. But when I got to hooking the boundaries for the hit and miss, I hooked three rows in perfect alignment for the outside edge of the hit and miss. I was unhappy about the look, see the post for Day 65! It took me this long to figure out what was wrong. This is one reason I always move out to the borders ASAP.

Crooked lines make a rug look more antique

Day 94 Trying out the new cat's paw border
Day 94 Trying out the new cat’s paw border

I decided to make the border lines more wobbly as I did in Antique Rose Runner. I decided to use the line I drew for the edge as a guideline only. I hooked the center line and wavered three holes left and three holes right at random. Then I hooked another strip on each side for the three rows I wanted. Much better. In Day 065 you can see how much of the straight line stuff I ripped out. You can also see how I adjusted the width of the hit and miss border. The crooked lines instantly softened the tone of the border and I think makes it look older.

{happy dance}

Read More Articles:

Day 99-275 Circle Border on Room-sized Rug

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