Hi Friends!!  I love teaching as well as doing all this dyeing you see on my eBay site.  I have many "tips & tricks" that I share with my local students and would like to start sharing them here with all of you. 

When students see my own hooked rugs, they ALWAYS ASK..."how'd you get your loops so high"???  Well...I believe everyone has their own "built-in" rhythm and that includes their tightness & height in their hooking.  But if you want that higher nap in your rugs then you have to get those loops pulled higher from the get go! 

Here are my steps:  #1 ...~ "Think aloud in your head as you pull each loop...HOOK HIGHER"; #2...~"Keep an extra wool strip out on top of your hooking AT ALL TIMES to use to "measure your height".  You turn the wool strip "up on its end" and place it right up next to & along side of the row of loops you have just hooked.  Your row of loops should be the same height as the wool strip is WIDE.  i.e.~ if your strip is 1/4 inch wide, then your loops should be pulled up to 1/4 inch high.  #3...~ "As you pull up a loop, be sure to pull the loop "up & backward"...NOT TOWARDS YOU...you'll have less tendency for the "previous loop" to pull down or out completely".  Also...keep a finger securely positioned up underneath your foundation on the PREVIOUS LOOP as you are pulling up the next loop in line.  This will hold that loop in place and from pulling out as you pull your next loop up. 

Hope this helps my new "hooker" Friends out there...keep practicing and don't put your hooking away in a bag or cupboard...keep it out where you can see it daily so you are reminded that hooking a little each day....goes a long way, you'll see progress before you know it!

Hooker Hugs,

Diane from WOOL-N-WARES