9.30am – 4.30pm
£80 inc. tasty Lunch / home baking.
Material Charges - £25 with the hook, and £20 without.

Join Susan Denham -Smith from 'Wild Wool Workshops' and craft your own stunning Herdwick Hooked Mat ....or Wall hanging! 

You will learn the little known craft of Locker Hooking to create a stunning place mat  (approx 10inch x 10inch) with Herdwick sheep design and, fittingly, using Herdwick wool from the oldest flocks in the country. The method is similar to that used to make traditional hooked rugs, but with a specially designed, crochet hook-style needle, threaded with linen to fix the design in place.

Rag rugging originated in the UK as a way to recycle fabric scraps into rugs. The slightly different method we will use is called Australian locker hooking, which was developed in the 1970s and rather than using materials strips, it uses raw fleece pulled through a rug canvas. This slight difference then allows more scope for the blending of colours and effects etc.

We will begin the day with an introduction to the types of wool fibres being used in this technique, and the various methods used to process the wool and different types of carding. You will have a chance to choose your design and colours, and then process the wool with a drum carder.  Using the special lockerhooking needle you'll learn how best to draft and hook the fibres through the canvas to start creating your piece.  There will be a choice of colours and wool blends to choose from,  from recently hand-dyed batches by Susan.  Several colours will be available, though choice from a complete colour range cannot be guaranteed. 

Dates for this course - see the table below to book:

Thursday 22nd June 2023    *     Sunday 8th October 2023

Typically this course runs with around 9 students. Ideal for beginners, as well as those with experience. 

Please bring:  Everything is provided by the tutor, please bring your £20 to £25 materials money.  About the Artist  Your Tutor Susan Denham-Smith has worked with wool all her life and specialises in Spinning, weaving and crafting at her Studio in the Wild Wool Workshop in Ennerdale.