Oak and Acorn
Size: 25″ x 44.5″
Just in time for fall. I imagine each leaf hooked using 2-24 different textures. Here are some ideas I came up with. I choose three different wools for each leaf. You can use more or less. I had to make a decision just to get the ball rolling.
Double outline and fill
This was the way I imagined the leaves hooked when I started this planning process. A simple outline with one wool, probably the lightest one and then filled in with one line of a second wool and a third to fill in the rest. The vein is another place for color and value. Depending on the wool you use to hook the leaves, you might want to keep the vein simple and use the same wool for all the veins.
I often get ideas once I start recording the ones I already have. The process of getting ideas down on paper actually helps to generate more ideas. How else can we hook this simple leaf?
Single outline and one color on each side
Rug hook a single outline around the entire leaf, hook the vein and then hook each side with a different wool.
This method will spread the color of each side along the length of the leaf.
Outline with two different wools and the fill with two wools side by side.
Split the leaf along the vein. Outline using two different wools changing color at the tip. Use the third on the side of your choice and then fill the remaining side with the color you used to outline the other.
Outline with two different wools and the fill with two wools top and bottm.
This method is really similar to the one above. You could easily mix both methods in the same rug. The two leaves will look different but will still be related.
This time split the leaf across the middle. You can split it at one of the narrow areas as I did or use a vein and change the color there.
Outline with one wool, fill top and bottom of each point
Extend the veins of the leaf to the edge and use this line to split the leaf. Change back to the original wool at the narrow part of the leaf to keep the same wool on top for each point.
Fill each third with a different wool
Simply divide the leaf into thirds and hook each area with a different texture. The divisions do not have to be and probably shouldn’t be even. Use the wool you like the best in the biggest area.
Outline each side with a different wool and fill with a third
This look really focuses on the wool you use for the fill.
How will you rug hook your leaves?
By now you see that a simple shape can be hooked many, many ways. Use paper and pencil, or markers as I did, to experiment. You can explore these options in wool which is very time consuming or take a few minutes before you start to chart your course. Once you decide, you can always change your mind. This is your rug. What you say goes. Where else in your life can you do that. Exercise that option!
Which ones will you choose? Will you choose one method and change the wool, or use several different methods with the same three wools? The possibilities are endless. This rug is also suitable as a table mat. The bare center could be used to display a centerpiece. You can use this space to hook in a date or initials to personalize your rug. Please note that the pattern comes with a blank center.
