Tool (for textiles)

Description

This punch rug shuttle, manufactured in the 19th or early 20th century, is used for creating hooked rugs. Hooked rugs are created by pulling loops of yarn, often wool, through the weave of a backing cloth using a hooking tool. The loops are pulled taught on the back of the rug, and piled and then clipped on the front side to create a design. This tool is used to push, or “punch,” yarn through the backing cloth, speeding up the process. This object is one of a large group transferred to Winterthur from the American Textile History Museum when it closed in 2017.