I have a hooked rug that has gotten stretched out of shape. How do I
block or size it back to it's original shape?

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 13 Aug 2002 11:07 PDT

Is the yarn in your rug made of wool, or synthetic fiber?

Greetings!  I located a message board exchange which centered around
"Getting rid of ripples in rugs" and explained various blocking
techniques:

"I assume that steaming has already been done. It can also help to
pile large books or other heavy items on top of the rug after steaming
and allowing it to dry for a couple of days. I have heard of people
blocking their rugs (like needlepointers do) by nailing it stetched
flat on a large board, or even a wooden floor such as a screened
porch, and then steaming it and letting it dry for a couple of days."

I then visited a link provided in one of the messages found at the
above site and located this:

"I turn the rug over and press the back side thoroughly with a linen
towel soaked in water and squeezed out so that the towel is definitely
wet but not dripping. I set iron on wool setting and press over the
towel until it is dry. I rewet, wring and then press another section
until the whole rug has been pressed. Immediately turn rug rightside
up and see if it lays flat. With your rug I would start pressing from
the middle out. After doing this, if it still bulges, try repressing
one more time.

"Then, if all else fails, while it is still damp from pressing stretch
it until it lays flat and gently nail a couple of strips of wood over
each end to hold it flat and leave it over night. I did this for one
of my students' rugs. The weather was nice and I nailed it to my
sundeck with protective turkish towel layer under it and an old sheet
over the top of it. I did it late in the afternoon to avoid sun and by
morning it stayed flat when I released it. You could also use a sheet
of plywood to nail the strips. Only a couple of nails just barely
pounded into each strip was enough to hold it."

I hope one of the above techniques proves successful for you.


SEARCH TERMS and LINKS:

blocking a hooked rug  [Google search]
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=blocking+a+hooked+rug

Padula Archives: Getting rid of ripples in rugs
http://www.rughookingonline.com/hooked/padula/ripples.html

Rug Hooking Online (link found in the above site)
http://www.rughookingonline.com/

Rug Hooking Online search
http://www.rughookingonline.com/search.html

search results for "blocking" at Rug Hooking Online
http://www.rughookingonline.com/cgi-bin/htsearch?words=blocking&config=htdig&restrict=&exclude=&method=and&format=long&sort=score

Ask the experts - "fixes for a packed rug" article link
http://www.rughookingonline.com/experts/packed.html