Intro to Rug Hooking

Instructor: Ruth Harper

Day & Date: Sunday, September 7, 2025

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. 

Tuition: $85.00

Ages: 18 and Up

All levels are welcome. No experience required.

Students Please Bring:

• (Optional) Embroidery Hoop if you have one. You can use this to bring your work home if necessary.
• Please bring your readers or magnification if needed. Olive’s Porch does have lights will magnification for use if needed.
• Note taking materials.
• (Optional) A snack and/or water bottle. Filtered water is available in the classroom.

Come learn an historical craft! Students will learn primitive rug hooking using wool strips and a hook. Your project will be done over a wooden frame provided by the instructor but can be done over an embroidery hoop if you prefer to work slowly and take home to finish. This workshop will cover how to select wool fabric suitable for hooking, cutting strips using a Townsend Cutter, making uniform loops, optimal spacing, starting, butting and end hooked rows.

Completed mug rug will be 4” x 4”. Ruth will have additional wool fabric and rug backing for purchase if students desire to enlarge their rug or start another rug in the future. A limited number of hooks will also be available for purchase from the instructor should you get “hooked”.

An additional fee for materials provided by your instructor for this workshop is estimated at $15.00 THIS FEE IS PAYABLE TO THE INSTRUCTOR at the time of the workshop. Material fees may change depending on the number of participants and price of materials at the workshop. *Payment by cash or check is required for materials fees.  

* We contract with local and regional instructors for short workshops that generally require a minimum of 4 students to run. If you have any questions, you’re welcome to call Olive’s Porch for up-to-date enrollment information. To respect our instructor’s time and preparation for workshops please contact us as soon as possible if you are unable to attend a workshop. Cancellations made more than 14 days prior to a workshop will be issued a full refund. Cancellations made 14 or less days prior to your workshop are not eligible for a refund. If Olive’s Porch needs to cancel a workshop for any reason, we will issue a full refund. See our General Information and Policies page on our website for more information.

About Instructor: Ruth Harper is a native of Maryville, Tennessee, but claims North Carolina roots from her mother who grew up near Murphy. She describes herself as a “serial craft artist”, starting in early childhood. As an adult she has worked primarily with fiber/textiles. She enjoys knitting, crocheting, basket making, upholstering, sewing clothing and window treatments. Before retiring, Ruth designed and constructed handbags, purses and backpacks from upholstery fabric and marketed her work at regional craft shows. She fell in love with the Folk School while participating in the annual fall festival over several years.

Ruth learned about primitive rug hooking from her friend, the late Kim Nixon. Kim taught primitive rug hooking and owned and ran Under The Rug, an online business where she sold her original rug designs, custom dyed fabric and rug hooking supplies. She was a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, and some of her beautiful hooking is in an archive at the Folk Art Center in Asheville. Ruth collaborated with Kim and some of her other students on upholstering beautiful hand-hooked rugs into footstools. Ruth has always felt handmade rugs are too precious to be walked on! In memory of her dear friend, Ruth wants to pass along some of what she learned from Kim and hopes to inspire a love for primitive rug hooking in those who want to learn.