Punch Needle Rug Hooking Workshop – Farnsworth Art Museum

Saturday and Sunday, January 6 & 7, 2018 from 10am to 3 pm

Punch needle rug hooking, also called “New England Style,” is easy to learn and fun to do. Create a small square or circular wool hooked mat of your own design. With a punch needle threaded with yarn, the rug is worked from the back to form the loops, instead of from the front, as in traditional rug hooking. Simple, graphic designs work best for this method. Time will be spent introducing and practicing technique, creating a design (perhaps inspired by the museum collection), choosing colors of available 100% wool rug yarn, hooking, and finishing off the project. Participants will have use of Oxford punch needles, hoops and frames during class time as well as all necessary supplies and equipment to complete their project.  Cost is $80 for members, $100 for nonmembers (A $30 materials fee for wool and backing cloth is payable to instructor on the first day of class.)

Instructor Holly Berry, from Waldoboro, is a children’s book illustrator and block printer. She also enjoys making punch needle rugs of her own designs and has taught rug hooking to children and adults. See examples of her work at www.hollyberrydesign.com.