Yay! I got the hooking and steaming finished!!
When I took it off the frame, the edges would curl up like this...
The remedy I was told, is steam. This is the way that was suggested by the rug hooking community.
First lay a towel down on a good ironing surface (I just used the leaf table we made here). Then lay the rug front side down on the towel...
Next add a damp cloth over the back (I used a flour sack towel that was hand wrung).
And iron. I have a wool setting on my iron, so not sure what heat setting exactly, but pretty hot so the water in the towel steams.
The end result...It worked Perfectly!!!
Corners and edges all flat...
To back ~ Or not to back...
There are different schools of thought on backing. One I hear backs their rugs with a brush on latex, which protects the fibers and prevents slipping...While the other leaves the back as is and puts a non-slip pad (that bumpy stuff we stick under futons on couches? It comes in rolls) under the rug, which does the same thing. And yet another who use a heavier weave fabric to hook on so no backing is needed at all.
I am allergic to latex, so that is ruled out...but I will investigate further and add some solutions into my next rug post, when I turn this piece into a floor pillow for our grand daughter :)
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!
Yvonne's patterns and kits - Vintage Heart Rug Design can be found here --> https://www.etsy.com/shop/YvonneBuus
Lucy's Color Wheel cards and kits can be found here --> http://www.thewoolymasonjar.com/
If you would like to read previous posts on this project, you will find them here -->
https://steemit.com/crafts/@elew/not-wasting-time-on-the-2018-list
https://steemit.com/crafts/@elew/rug-hooking-supplies-trickling-in
https://steemit.com/art/@elew/mixing-the-dyes-from-the-wooly-mason-jar
https://steemit.com/handcrafted/@elew/on-the-bench-today-dying-the-wool-for-the-first-rug-hooking
https://steemit.com/needleworkmonday/@elew/needlework-monday-the-needle-punch-rug-hooking