Saturday 3 & Sunday 4 July 2021, 2-5pm BST (British Summer Time, London, UK)

Rug Hooking, Virtual Workshop with Multicolores

Multicolores is an association of Maya women artists who create original textile artwork through rug-hooking and embroidery. The hand-hooked rugs are completely unique and highly personal: each one is a celebration of the artist's creative voice. To create these rugs, artisans hook strips of fabric into thousands of loops of colour, almost as if they are painting. Combining motifs from traditional weavings with their own imagination, the artists create vibrant artworks that are evocative of Maya culture and strikingly contemporary. Each rug is made from dozens of recycled secondhand garments, mostly t-shirts: an environmentally friendly, innovative material that reduces textile waste in their community.

Outline of the workshop
In this two-day rug hooking workshop, you will learn how to design and hook a rug the Mayan way. Your instructors are Mayan women artists with 7+ years of rug-hooking expertise. They will guide you through the entire creation process: design, colour combinations, material preparation, and hooking technique. Artists will begin by demonstrating their own work and the Mayan handwoven textiles that inspire them. You will learn about the Multicolores design philosophy: how to create vibrant, exciting artwork using original templates and freehand drawing. Since environmental stewardship is a pillar of Multicolores work we invite you to recycle or up-cycle secondhand clothing to use as your raw material, as our artists do.

You will review the best techniques for cutting your material into strips that are ready to hook, and artists will guide you in creating bold colour combinations. Finally, you will learn the hooking technique, including important do's and don'ts. On the second day of the class, rug hooking artists will guide the class through a design critique and will help troubleshoot issues with hooking technique. By the end of the workshop, you will have a completed design and you will have begun hooking your textile! This workshop includes a downloadable Design Guide including some of the teaching artists’ favourite original templates.

Materials list (not provided)

• Recycled clothing: for beginners, we recommend designing a small rug (45cm x 55cm). For this size, you will need 15-20 recycled garments. We highly recommend using t-shirts or other jersey-knit garments in an assortment of colours. Patterns are great, too! In the spirit of recycling, we invite you to use worn-out garments from your closet, or clothing from your local charity/thrift shop. If you’d like to get a head start before the workshop, you can begin cutting your garments into strips 2cm wide.
• Frame or hoop: if you don't have a rug-hooking frame, a 30cm diameter quilting hoop is a low-cost alternative. Most students prefer non-slip plastic.
• Hook: you will be hooking mostly with cotton and cotton blends. Some rug hookers find that a thick shanked hook works best for pulling wide strips (8mm), others prefer a smaller regular hook (6mm).
• Ground cloth: if you are new to rug-hooking we suggest buying cotton monkscloth with a woven grid. For a small rug (45cm x 55cm), we suggest cutting a cloth approximately 61cm x 71cm, leaving 8cm space on each edge. If you’d like to hook a larger piece, that’s up to you! You'll want to hem or tape the edges of your ground cloth before the workshop.
• Scissors: a good pair of scissors for cutting recycled clothing and templates.
• Markers and drawing supplies. Sharpies work well for designing on monkscloth.
• Thick paper: for making design templates. Again, in the spirit of recycling, cardboard cereal boxes work well!

No prep work is required. Appropriate for both beginners and advanced rug hookers. Depending on the participants’ experience level, we may split into beginners & advanced rug hookers at some point in the workshop.

If you require additional information about this workshop please contact Catherine Harris, events@selvedge.org.

Workshop Cancellation Policy
All places reserved on workshops are non-refundable, however, if you let us know you are not able to make a workshop you have booked at least two weeks prior to the event, we will re-advertise your place and refund your fee as long as we are able to sell your place and the workshop is fully booked.