Tips and Tricks: the Pros of a Soft Pencil Over a Sharpie

When drawing patterns, it’s easy to make minor mistakes. When you’re in “production mode”, and in the zone of following the lines, it’s easy to overlook that one motif wasn’t drawn, or a line in the border was missed. I’ve made these mistakes myself while drawing patterns and I’ve noticed them in patterns that I’ve purchased as well. It happens to everyone!

That is why, as a teacher and a rug hooker, before a project is started, I really analyze the pattern that is being hooked. I analyze the pattern to ensure it’s complete: all the motifs are present and finished, the lines all make sense, and there aren’t any unexpected gaps. I also check if the pattern is drawn on the straight of the grain. I do that at the start of projects, because it helps me kickstart the creative process. I start thinking about how I’m going to approach specific details in the motifs.

a sample of a floral motif drawn in sharpie – the motif is incomplete

I also do this analysis before starting hooking because I want to correct any mistakes that I do find. It’s easiest to do that before hooking, because once you start hooking, the focus becomes on pulling loops and following lines and applying colors. It’s just as easy to miss the mistake when hooking as it was when drawing the pattern initially.

an example of one of Ania’s patterns where she had to make adjustments with a sharpie, multiple times

When making modifications or corrections to a pattern, many rug hookers will pull out a sharpie to do so. I think a lot of people chose to do so because we use sharpies to draw patterns in the first place, and we want to ensure the adjustments are visible. The problem with sharpies is that they are permanent. So, you need to make sure that what you’re drawing is exactly what you need, otherwise it complicates the pattern even more. If you make mistakes, the process of hooking the rug becomes much more confusing. On a separate but related note, sometimes people use different colored sharpies to help them color plan a pattern. The concern with that is I’ve found that the marker can bleed onto light value wools over time.

the flower motif from earlier has now been completed with an 8B pencil

What I recommend using to make these adjustments and notes is an 8B pencil. They’re used for drawing and sketching, and you can purchase them at any art store. They’re relatively inexpensible (less than $3), and invaluable for what they offer to my rug hooking projects! Since the lead in these pencils is soft, they’re easy to use on linen and other backing material, and the lines they draw are very visible. If I make a mistake, all I need is a soft pencil eraser or a damp cloth and the mistake is easily removed. Once I’ve made all of my corrections, that’s when I go back over the pencil with my sharpie.

As always, if you have any questions for Ania, feel free to leave them in the comments below!