Latch Hook 101 | Your First Rug, Cushion, or Tote

If you want proof that a craft can be both genuinely easy and genuinely impressive, latch hook is it. Every single latch hook kit we sell is labeled Total Beginner — not because the results look basic, but because the technique itself really is that simple to pick up. Here's everything you need to know before you start your first rug, cushion, or tote.

Latch hook is a rug-making technique where you loop pre-cut lengths of yarn through a printed canvas, one knot at a time, using a small hooked tool. Repeat that same motion a few thousand times across a design, and you end up with a dense, textured piece of home decor — a rug, a cushion cover, or a tote bag.

It's often confused with rug tufting, which is a different process entirely: tufting uses a mechanical (often electric) tool to punch yarn through backing fabric at speed, creating a denser, carpet-like pile. Latch hook is the slower, fully hand-done version — no power tool required, just the hook, the canvas, and your hands.

Every Craft Club latch hook kit comes with a pre-printed canvas, pre-cut yarn in every color the design needs, a latch hook tool, clear instructions, and access to video tutorials if you'd rather watch than read. The only thing you'll need to supply yourself is a pair of scissors for trimming stray ends — any household pair works, though rug trimming scissors are a nice upgrade once you're hooked (sorry).

The motion itself has just a few steps: slide the hook under a strand of canvas mesh, hook a folded piece of yarn, pull it partway through, then loop the yarn ends through the hook's latch and pull the whole thing tight. Repeat, one knot at a time, following the printed color guide on your canvas. There's no counting, no charts, and no way to "mess up" a stitch the way you might in cross stitch — a loop is a loop.

Because every kit is Total Beginner regardless of size, there's no real reason to "work up" to the design you actually want. A standard Rug Making Kit — something like Psychedelia or Check Me Out, two of our most-loved designs — is a satisfying first project. If you want something even faster, a Latch Hook Cushion Kit or Latch Hook Tote Bag covers less canvas and gets you to a finished, usable object sooner.

An XL Rug Making Kit or an XL Mirror Rug Kit is just as achievable as the rest of the kits — bigger canvas, more hours, same beginner-friendly technique throughout.

Work in sections by colour rather than jumping around the design — it's faster and easier to keep your place. Keep your loops snug and even; too loose and they'll pull out, too tight and the canvas will pucker. And don't rush the trim: an even, well-trimmed pile is what separates a homemade-looking rug from a genuinely polished one.