Fun Asian Influence Latch Hook Kits to Make Your Own Pillows and Rugs

When I was a kid, making latch hook pictures, pillows and rugs was a really popular hobby. I made ladybugs, mushrooms and owls. The small kits we bought came with little plastic frames. Later I worked some of them into a jean jacket. I remember that I looked really cool. But I was in 6th grade…

I kinda forgot about latch hook kits until I saw this little rug. Isn’t it adorable?

 

Latch Hook Rug Kits

Latch hook is easy to do. Push the hook through stiff canvas with big holes in it. Hook on a piece of yarn, pull it back through the hole and secure it. It’s that easy.

Latch hook kits come with everything you need to complete a project. This kit is pretty typical. It includes a hook, pre-hemmed rug printed in the design, pre-cut yarn in the colors you will need and instructions.

When you finish, this is the rug you get. I like the design a lot, kinda The Great Wave off Kanagawa meets The Starry Night.

Some rug patterns come pre-cut to make a shaped rug.

A lot of people hang the finished rug on the wall instead of putting it on the floor. If you are going to use it, you might want to add an additional knot as you hook in each piece of yarn so that the rug will last longer. If you tie everything off well and the outside edge of the canvas is finished, you can shake the rugs out and even run them through the washer.

 

Latch Hook Pillow Kits

Latch hook pillows don’t get as much abuse as a rug on the floor. There are some really great pillow kits.

Most pillow kits contain everything you need to make the picture. They don’t come with the rest of the stuff to make it into a pillow.

This is a hook throw pillow from Peking Handicraft. The back is velvet.

You can easily make a zip-on back for your project.

The trick is to put the zipper into the fabric before you do anything else. You can find zippers for about 25 cents at many thrift stores. They have instructions on the package or you can find instructions all over the internet. It’s not difficult at all to put a zipper into a flat piece of fabric.

Once the zipper is in, zip it up, pin it to the pillow cover, fronts together, trim a little so that the back with the zipper is just a little bit bigger than the latch hooked part. Sew all the way around. Give a little extra stitching when you turn the corners.

Then get your finger into the zipper and unzip it. Turn the pillow back right-side-out and push the corners out nice and tight. If you sewed over a lot of the yarn bits, you can pull them back out with a little crochet hook or your latch hook if it’s small enough. Then stick another pillow in through the zipper or stuff it with stuffing.

Another easy way to do it is to buy a pre-made zip-on pillow cover about the right size. Fold the unfinished edges of your latch hook project under. It’s easier to work with if you iron them down. Without any filling inside the pillow cover, just hand sew the latch hook project to one side. You don’t have to be too careful. It’s not going to be under much stress and the loops will hide the stitches.

The rug is not a latch hook kit. It is just a rug. It’s not even an expensive rug. But if you want to make one yourself, you can.

You can make your own kit really easily. Just decide what you want to make. You can see through the latch hook canvas holes, so you can lay it over something to draw a pattern. I used coloring books. If you are using an art book or something else, wrap some plastic wrap around the book. It protects the page and holds it open.

Then use  binder clips to keep the canvas in place while you draw your lines. You can use different color markers to give yourself a color guide. Instead of cutting the yarn, you can pull out loops. But tie them off still if you want it to not fall to pieces.