Last year for Christmas, I got an Oxford punch needle and I haven’t tried it yet! So I decided to get it out and see how it works and what the finished result looks like when I punch wool worms. I will be comparing the punched wool to traditional rug hooking loops.
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Punching the Worms:
The Oxford punch needles come in several different sizes to create different height of loops. You can choose a regular or fine needle, which just indicates the size of the fiber you can punch. I have a regular #10 Oxford punch, which punches 1/4″ loops.
I will be hooking and punching both #8 worms (1/4″ wide wool strips) and #4 worms (1/8″ wide wool strips) that I will be cutting with my vintage Rigby strip cutter.
Threading the Oxford punch needle is similar to threading a regular punch needle, but in reverse. First, you thread the eye of the needle and then you place the the fiber into the groove.
I am using monks cloth for the foundation fabric and I punched the loops through every other hole, which was six stitches per inch. I punched 2 rows of the #8 loops and got the rows too close together the first time around.
The #4 loops, I also punched in every other hole on the monks cloth. Punching the rows close together seemed to be fine with the narrower strips.
Punching Compared to Hooking:
After punching the worms, I flipped the monks cloth over and started hooking. I don’t normally hook as tall as the punched loops were and I found it difficult to hook my loops that tall! There are probably other hookers out there that hook taller than the 1/4″ punches.
If you are a puncher and interested in getting started in rug hooking, the Oxford punch needle is probably a great gateway for you! For those of you who already hook, it could be a nice alternative for you to do something different without having to get a lot of new supplies. I am thinking the narrow tall loops would make great sheep fleece in an otherwise hooked project! I am probably going to combine hooking and punching in my next project.
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