East Coast Rug-Hooking Designs: New Patterns from an Old Tradition

Karen F. Danielson, Ph.D., is a research consultant at Laurentian
University who specializes in leisure, textiles, family life, and Japan.

The craft of rug hooking was developed along the Eastern seaboard of
North America in the early to mid-19th century when burlap feed bags
were stretched on frames and torn strips from old clothing were hooked
into this backing. The hooking was done using a bent nail with a wooden
handle. This tradition is being kept alive and has been developed into a
modern form by Deanne Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick finds a basis for modern rug hooking in old memories and
traditions, in creating work that harmonizes with traditional
architecture, and in drawing attention to the landscape and vegetation
or the old lighthouses and homes of Maritime Canada. Her work is also
inspired by welcomes, the shoreline, women and men at work, fish, and
old floral patterns.

The reader is encouraged to create similar objects and provided with
the technical information to do so. Suggestions are included for
outlining, colour variation, fibre selection, patterns and templates,
backing, binding, framing, and hanging. For roofs, Fitzpatrick
recommends tweeds and plaids rather than solid shades, which might be
flat and dull, and she reserves yellow for only the top of a lighthouse
in order to create a focal point. Colourful images of completed work are
found on nearly every page of the book. She also provides yardage
estimates for fabric, colour palettes, and tips for more than 30
projects.

Collectors and fibre artists will find much to enjoy in the background
information associated with each image. Anyone seeking a more simple,
peaceful life will also find inspiration in the approach she brings to
her work. Fitzpatrick has found a way to ensure that old stories and
traditional ways of living continue to inform current developments in
this field. She even offers the odd recipe for some traditional food
that is likely to enhance the experience.