# Has anyone ever tried this?.



## Frances14 (Aug 1, 2012)

Hi everyone, just wondering, have any of you Ladies or Gents ever made a rug with one of those kits that you can buy, and if so was it enjoyable to do?.

My Daughter is having a baby soon and I have been looking online at the nursery ones. They look absolutely adorable, but would appreciate your feedback.

Thank you, Jenny x


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## tigerlily (May 3, 2013)

i used to do them all the time. they are a lot of fun, but if you have arthritis it will hurt your hands. that's why i don't do them anymore.


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## ragdoll03 (Sep 17, 2011)

I did them too and really enjoyed the craft. Now I would rather knit and crochet.


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

If you mean latch-hook rugs, yes and no.

I bought the kits thinking my (then) youngsters and I could work on them together. They quickly lost interest in theirs; I never finished mine. All of them are still sitting in boxes awaiting completion or waiting for me to finally dispose of them.

On the other hand, I found a beautifully completed one at a second-hand store, bought it, washed it, and use is as a chair cover in my basement wool-room. It's cozy in a room that rarely gets up to 'room temperature'.

Nothing could ever convince me to use any latch-hooked item as an on-the-floor rug; it's just a dangerous tripping hazard. As a chair cover or wall-hanging it's perfect, though it _is_ a dust-magnet.


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## jenven (Dec 5, 2012)

I made an eeyore rug for my daughter and my husband made another Winnie the Pooh character rug for his nephew's first child. He enjoyed making it bit found the fluff that came off it when he was making it rather annoying!


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## Frances14 (Aug 1, 2012)

Thanks Jessica-Jean, never thought about the tripping hazard. If I do one I suppose she could use it on the nursing chair, for all those freezing midnight feeds ha ha.

In hindsight though,I probably won't do one now because Tiger Lily said if you have arthritis it hurts your hands, I do have rather bad arthritis and I could do without that.

Take care, Jenny x


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## ChrisGV (Apr 5, 2013)

I did one for each of my children, now grown and one for a granddaughter. Those were kits. I also did several from a chart design book I had and one of them won a red ribbon at the Minnesota State Fair years ago. I really liked making them. The last kit I had was short one color and I was able to get another small bundle from Mary Maxim

All of them washed and dried well in the washer and dryer


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## run4fittness (May 22, 2011)

I have done latch hook. It is all right but not something I would do a lot of.


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## Hilary4 (Apr 26, 2012)

I have a half-done flokati style one - yawn!


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

Hilary4 said:


> I have a half-done flokati style one - yawn!


Thank you, Hilary4, for widening my vocabulary today! I'd never heard of Flotaki rugs before, though I've seen more than my fill of shag rugs.

When we bought this house, it's last renovation had to have been in the late 60s or early 70s. There was long, originally pale caramel-coloured, wall-to-wall shag carpeting everywhere except the kitchen and bathroom. The place was inhabitable until it had all been ripped up - revealing the priceless blond hard-wood floors beneath it. The previous inhabitants had been heavy smokers; the stench was embedded in the carpeting. Talk about back-breaking work!

Someday, I may finish some of the half-done ones I have. Or not.


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## Jalsh (Aug 6, 2012)

Frances14 said:


> Hi everyone, just wondering, have any of you Ladies or Gents ever made a rug with one of those kits that you can buy, and if so was it enjoyable to do?.
> 
> My Daughter is having a baby soon and I have been looking online at the nursery ones. They look absolutely adorable, but would appreciate your feedback.
> 
> Thank you, Jenny x


Our family does one every summer. Everyone does a bit as they pass by it or wants to do something to contribute. The grands learn to read a chart. It's better than them playing on their phone! At Christmas I lay it by the hearth, then whoever wants it, takes it. No one has ever tripped yet-(knock on wood).


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

Jalsh said:


> Our family does one every summer. Everyone does a bit as they pass by it or wants to do something to contribute. The grands learn to read a chart. It's better than them playing on their phone! At Christmas I lay it by the hearth, then whoever wants it, takes it. No one has ever tripped yet-(knock on wood).


 :thumbup: I think that's a fantastic idea!

Makes me wish I'd managed to get some useful tradition like that going when my kids were kids. Of course, it would have helped to have had a big family.


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## Frances14 (Aug 1, 2012)

Hi everyone, thank you for your replies. I love your family tradition Jalsh. 

I have been looking online again and rather than go for a rug straight away, which is £60-70, an awful lot of money if I don't get on with it, I am going for a cushion front which is £21.00. I hope I enjoy it, because I would love to do the rug.

Happy Easter to you all, Jenny x


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## SpangleB (Jan 4, 2013)

I did a latch hook rug many years ago. Never finished it. It was the most boring thing to do - watching paint dry is more interesting!!


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## guen12 (Jul 28, 2011)

I did one small piece years ago. I think it had a pic of a cat. It ended up being the cats favorite sleeping pad. I still have the hook but I did not invest in anymore yarn.


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## theknittinglady (Mar 31, 2012)

I made one for my granddaughter. It was Elmo and I made it into a throw pillow for her. One of the most boring things I've ever done.


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## Dusti (Jan 23, 2012)

No, never did a rug. Just one more thing on my list I will never get to. But they do look like fun to do.


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## sam0767 (Jun 20, 2012)

This is funny. My 13 year old GS and I were talking a couple weejs ago about diffrent crafts I have done through the years. This subject came up about latch hooking. I am thinking of getting him a small kit to see if he would like to do it.


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## Linda S. (Aug 31, 2012)

Before my grandmother passed away, I was taking care of her, and she loved doing these. I still like to do them because it brings back wonderful memories. It's also a good break since I have a damaged index finger and sometimes can't knit OR crochet but can still hold the latch hook tool.

Paint-on skid rug backing takes care of the safety problem, and after it's been vacuumed a few times, it doesn't shed very much.


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## cbjlinda (May 25, 2011)

a suggestion on the rug to keep it from sliding is to stich or glue some of the rubberized shelf liner that we used to us in our motor home to keep things from rolling around on the shelves. I use it on all my bathroom rugs.


Jessica-Jean said:


> If you mean latch-hook rugs, yes and no.
> 
> I bought the kits thinking my (then) youngsters and I could work on them together. They quickly lost interest in theirs; I never finished mine. All of them are still sitting in boxes awaiting completion or waiting for me to finally dispose of them.
> 
> ...


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## Woodsywife (Mar 9, 2014)

I have one in progress. It will be hanging on the wall over my sofa if I ever finish it.


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## toast (Jul 27, 2011)

Many years ago my father-in-law, when he retired, made me a Christmas rug for around the tree (ours sits on top of the rug. It took a long time to make but every year we enjoy it.


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## Windbeam (Jul 31, 2011)

I have three gorgeous ones. They wash real nice and look just as good as new.


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## DickWorrall (May 9, 2011)

I did one years ago. 
I bought the kit for my wife to do. She did two rows and quit.
I finished it and we had it framed. Still have it on the wall.
It was made in the 70's.
Dick


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## Woodsywife (Mar 9, 2014)

DickWorrall said:


> I did one years ago.
> I bought the kit for my wife to do. She did two rows and quit.
> I finished it and we had it framed. Still have it on the wall.
> It was made in the 70's.
> Dick


Dick, How did you frame it? I haven't finished yet because I don't know how to frame it.


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## kathryn64 (Mar 11, 2011)

A friend made a latch hook rug, bound it and places it on top of her carpeted floor in front of the fireplace each year. It looks decorative and she doesn't worry about slipping.


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## Homeshppr (Feb 28, 2011)

My family made several back in the 80's. They were fun to do, but most of them ended up as wall hangings. We just found them more decorative than functional and could never imagine dirty feet walking all over them!


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## DickWorrall (May 9, 2011)

Dick, How did you frame it? I haven't finished yet because I don't know how to frame it.

We brought it to a place in a mall that did picture framing.
We picked out the frame and they framed it for us.
Inside dimensions are 27 inches by 20 inches.
Dick


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## Stardust (Dec 1, 2013)

Jessica-Jean, I really want you to get out those WIPs and finish at least one of them. Then post a pic. Inquiring eyes want to see.


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## dragonswing (Feb 18, 2014)

Jessica-Jean said:


> Nothing could ever convince me to use any latch-hooked item as an on-the-floor rug; it's just a dangerous tripping hazard.


There is a latex type liquid that can be painted on the back of the latch hook after completion will makes it slip proof. It is the same as the backs of bathroom rugs you buy.


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## Jalsh (Aug 6, 2012)

sam0767 said:


> This is funny. My 13 year old GS and I were talking a couple weejs ago about diffrent crafts I have done through the years. This subject came up about latch hooking. I am thinking of getting him a small kit to see if he would like to do it.


We started out with a pillow kit that my granddaughter won in a school raffle. Her mom was going to throw it out and I said that I would take it. Use a muffin tin to sort the colors. We have to cover them up or the cats will have a grand time with them! 
I attached the finished latch hook pillow to a store bought pillow that had a cool picture on one side and velvet on the reverse. I sewed up 3 sides so there is a pocket for her stuff. 
This years project is a rug that I bought on sale through the Herrschners site. It's our biggest project yet! 
The wool sheds a bit at first but what wool doesn't?
I hope you guys do it, get lots of people involved, it goes fast then and it gets competitive. At least around here it does!


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## Frances14 (Aug 1, 2012)

Thanks Jalsh, been looking at the kits with My Daughter this afternoon and am certainly going to have a go.

Take care, Jenny x


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## Frances14 (Aug 1, 2012)

Thanks everyone for your interest in my topic. It has given me the encouragement to have a go.

Thank you Jenny x


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## Jalsh (Aug 6, 2012)

Frances14 said:


> Thanks Jalsh, been looking at the kits with My Daughter this afternoon and am certainly going to have a go.
> 
> Take care, Jenny x


Maybe start with something small. I'll post pictures of our wip during the summer. I saw one shaped like a rose that I'd like to put next to my bed. Maybe next year!


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## domesticgod (Apr 6, 2011)

I did them. Finished one, got about 1/3 way through a second one, and got totally bored with the whole idea.


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## GrandmaJudy (Feb 2, 2011)

I have a Christmas one I made years ago....it took years to finish it as I always found other things I preferred doing. It's pretty but I wouldn't d o another.


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## blawler (Feb 20, 2012)

Years ago I did a lot of latch-hooked rugs, some from kits and some of my own design. I didn't have a problem with tripping over them on the floor. I did, however, put a non-slip pad under them. I did mine in 100% wool or a wool/nylon blend. I tried working with acrylic and found, at that time, it broke off so the strands got shorter and shorter. Good only for a wall hanging. Perhaps the acrylic is better now, don't know.. Aloha... Bev
P.S., yes, I enjoyed watching the pattern develop.


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## KnitPicker (Jan 19, 2011)

I did large and small and enjoyed doing them immensely. I found that getting rubber rug backing spray works really well to sidestep the tripping or sliding. (talk to someone at a craft store and they can show you where it is). If a craft store doesn't have it, I once found it at a hardware store.


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## romana (Sep 25, 2011)

I have done several and enjoyed watching each progress. I made wall hangings for my mom and mom in law and designed rugs to fit rooms where I could not find a preprinted background. I, on the ones for the floor, painted the backing on with a paint made of latex to keep them from slipping around. Stood up to washing well. They did fluff but yarn has fluff too when I knit and I still enjoy it too.


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## jonesalice860 (Apr 10, 2013)

My daughter drew a picture of a penguin when she was about six,in school. I bought her everything for the latch piece and she transferred it and we framed it. It is on one of my walls now. She is 49. My son carved a chess set. Each piece was about four inches high. So he made a latchet rug for the board. He was about 14. He is 55 now and still has it.


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## aljellie (Mar 4, 2011)

I actually did a fairly large one years ago as a rehab project following a bout of MS that left my left side (I'm left-handed) paralyzed and then weakened. It took me 11 months to complete and by the time i finished I had regained the strength (and more importantly, the ability to knit) in my left side and hand. I have it in the entry way of my summer home in Maine. It's a beautiful red and blue oriental type pattern and every time I see it I remember how hard I worked on it and how it helped me heal. I have a non-slip liner under it, the kind you can buy and cut to size, and sliding and slipping has never been a problem. Would I do it again? No, too hard on my now aging body and far less interesting than other craft projects. But I cherish the function it served.
Ellie


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## spinninggill (Apr 9, 2011)

Yes they're great fun (and quite addictive)


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## albacu (Jun 25, 2012)

I did one with my grandson when he was about 12yrs, just done a album for his 18th with a great photo of him sat at the table making it.we still use the same rug in sun lounge.


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## Helma (Oct 6, 2012)

Each of my kids did one when they were young ( They are boys )I think it was a school assignment .They made the small size ( about 12 x 12 )and we made them into pillows for their rooms . They enjoyed doing it at the time .I have a couple of kits in my craft room but have yet to work on them .


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## Joan Thelma (Nov 18, 2011)

I made one years ago and used it as a piano bench cover.

It was very unique and I received many compliments on it. Finally, threw it away when I retired, bought my own home, and sold the piano (no room for it anymore).


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## knitpresentgifts (May 21, 2013)

I made a latch hook kit that was angels in a circle that made a Christmas tree skirt for my mom when I was a teenager. Mom kept it and used it every year until it was inherited by me. I'm thinking to sell it at a yard sale as I don't use it. 

At the time, I enjoyed making it.


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## nittineedles (Apr 14, 2011)

40 years ago I latch hooked a 6X9 foot teal rug. I bought the yarn, (100% wool) cut it all myself, stitched the three 6 foot strips together and painted a rubbery substance on the back to prevent it from slipping. It took 3 or 4 years to complete and I killed the nerve in my right index finger (it grew back). I rather enjoyed it but will never forget the heat and weight of that thing on my lap.


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