Honey Bee Hive Rug Hooking Q&A
About Honey Bee Hive Rug Hooking
Located in Manchester, Connecticut, Honey Bee Hive Rug Hooking is an online retail rug hooking pattern and supply company.
You can learn more about Honey Bee Hive by following this link.
While we we are primarily an online mail-order business, we do offer shop visits (by appointmnet only) and hope to have a physical storefront some day!
From time to time, customers in hte area will stop by to pick up orders to save shipping. If you want to do this, please email us at patterns@rughook.com.
Our address is 40 Forest Street, Manchester, CT 06040.
About our patterns
Honey Bee Hive has more than 3,000 rug hooking patterns in our inventory, making it the largest online collection of rug hooking patterns in the world.
While that's a good thing, it can also be daunting to find what you are looking for!
Here are five steps for finding the perfect pattern:
1) Search collections based on the pattern style, shape size and use
From our main menu, click on "Patterns" and select from the various menu options, including shape, style, size and use to narrow your search.
2) Do a keyword word search
Use common words that describe what you are looking for, such as "bird," "cat, "love" or even styles such as "primitive," "scrolls," or even the specific name of a pattern (if you know it!). Just click on the magnifying glass and enter in your search terms.
3) Search our pattern library by designer
With dozens of pattern designers to choose from you can narrow your search to a specific designer by selecting "Designers" from the main menu.
4) Use filter options (not available on smartphones)
To further narrow your search, you can use the filter options on the left hand side of the screen. With filters, you can find patterns in any combination of style, size, designer, size, shape or search terms!
5) If all else fails, email us at patterns@rughook.com and we will be glad to help!
Honey Bee Hive prints patterns on three foundation cloths (also known as backing materials), they are in order of popularity:
- Linen: 100% flax, 13 x 13 count , our recommended backing. About 80% of our customers purchase this backing. It can be used for both primitive and fine rug hooking.
- Rug Warp: 100% cotton, 13 x 13 count, is a heavier backing. It can be used for both fine and primitive rug hooking. About 15% of our customers purchase this backing.
- Monks Cloth: A popular cotton backing that is lightweight and soft. It can be used for all size cuts and has a 24 x 26 count. It is not intended for footstool patterns, as it can stretch. Less than 5% of our customers order this backing.
We also offer these backings for sale, by the yard, and as custom sized and serged pieces.
Our rug hooking patterns can be hooked using a traditional method, or they can also be punch hooked. If you plan to punch hook your pattern, be sure to note that it will come out as a "mirror image" of the pattern. Also, we recommend using either Monks Cloth or Rug Warp for the backing.
If you prefer a mirror image of the pattern to punch hook (especially if the pattern has wording in it), let us know by either making a note in the order, emailing us at patterns@rughook.com, or sending us a message.
Unfortunately we don't offer latch hooking patterns, instead, we offer traditional rug hooking patterns that can be hooked with wool using a traditional method, or they can also be punch hooked using yarn or strips of wool.
We currently offer just a few kits, which can be found here: Honey Bee Hive Rug Hooking Kits.
We are looking at offering other kits as well. If you are interested in a kit of one of our other patterns, please send us an email at patterns@rughook.com so that we can "upvote" that pattern for the collection. We will also contact you when we start offering kits!
In addition, we can also place you in touch with a Certified McGown Rug Hooking Instructor, who can help you color plan the pattern, and select wool. If you are interested in that, email us at patterns@rughook.com and send us your city and state, and we can see if we can find an instructor near you.
Many of our patterns come in multiple sizes, some with smaller motifs from larger patterns. If you would like to hook one of our patterns, but want a different size, send us a message, or email us at patterns@rughook.com and let us know the pattern number you are interested in and the size you would like and we'll see if we can make it that size. If we can, we can also let you know the price.
Rug Hooking Instruction
Yes! We're glad to hear you are interested to learn to rug hook! We have a network of rug hooking instructors around the world who can assist you.
They can help with color planing, wool selection as well as hooking techniques. Rug hooking instructors are also actively involved in their local rug hooking community so they can help you connect you with other rug hookers in your area, including at hook-ins, guild meetings and other events.
Contact us at patterns@rughook.com and we can place you in touch with a rug hooking instructor near you.
Pearl McGown and Jane McGown Flynn established the McGown Teachers' Workshop Series, a certification program for rug hookers seeking to become instructors. In addition, the program is designed to further expand the skills of rug existing hooking teachers.
There are five workshops around the US each year. To find a Teacher's Workshop near you, visit our schedule of workshops.
Honey Bee Hive is the exclusive provider of rug hooking patterns for the McGown Teachers' Workshop Series. Our CHARCO line of primitive and tapestry patterns from House of Price were designed by Jane McGown Flynn to provide rug hook artists with challenging and exciting patterns from which to master their craft.
Email us at patterns@rughook.com with the workshop you would like to attend, and we can place you in touch with the Director for that workshop.
Wool, Yarn and Color Plans
We sell wool separate from our patterns, since most rug hookers either want to select their own wool colors, or choose to hook with yarn. This allows our customers the flexibility to hook with their preferred method and colors.
If you need help color planning your rug, you can email us at patterns@rughook.com and we can place you in touch with a rug hooking instructor who can help you with wool selection.
We also offer a small selection of 'as is' wool colors on our site which you can see here.
We don't include color pictures of completed rugs along our patterns, instead we showcase examples of completed rugs sent in by our customers online. This allows us to show multiple color plans and ideas, to give our rug hookers inspiration and color plan options.
Many of the completed versions are hooked by our network of McGown Certified rug hooking instructors. If you are interested in having a certified rug hooking instructor color plan your rug, email us at patterns@rughook.com.
If you have completed one of our patterns, send it to us at pictures@rughook.com and we will showcase it on our site.
Honey Bee Hive offers a limited selection of wool colors online. You can see our collection of wool here.
If you would like to purchase directly from wool providers, here are a few we recommend:
Dorr Mill Store: dorrmillstore.com
Heavens to Betsy: heavens-to-betsy.com
The Wool Studio: thewoolstudio.com.
If you are interested in working with a color planner (who can also help you find wool for your rug), click here.
We don't currently offer yarn. If you are interested in punch hooking your rug with yarn, you check out these sources for yarn:
Heart and Hare Rugs: https://www.heartandharerugs.com/
Brown Sheep: https://brownsheep.com/
While many of our customers design their own color plan, some also work with a certified rug hooking instructor to come up with a color plan. If you work with an instructor, they can also help with wool selection and purchase.
If you want to work with a rug hooking instructor, email us at patterns@rughook.com with your city and state and we will provide names of local rug hooking instructors you can contact.
Footstools
Depending on which footstool you ordered, and whether or not you ordered a kit or a fully assembled footstool, you might have a few extra steps to follow before affixing your pattern to the footstool.
For our Queen Anne, Square and Cube Footstools, click on the attached link to view our Queen Anne, Square and Cube Footstool Assembly Instructions (PDF).
For our Country Footstool, click on this link: Country Footstool Assembly Instructions (PDF).
Shipping & Returns
While we ship around the world, customers can only ship to specific countries online, due to the variability in shipping costs and customs.
If you find our system won't ship to your address, reach out to us at patterns@rughook.com so we can provide a customized shipping solution and quote.
Please note: some international shipments may incur import custom fees levied by the local government. Unfortunately, Honey Bee Hive has no control over these fees. If you have questions, please contact us at patterns@rughook.com.
Shipping times vary by product availability and your location.
If you order a pattern and need it for a specific date, please let us know using the note section of the order form, or send us a message or email us at patterns@rughook.com.
To learn more about our production and shipping times, you can read our Shipping and Return Policy.
We use all major carriers, and local courier partners. You’ll be asked to select a delivery method during checkout.
Our goal is to make make sure each customer is satisfied with their purchase, so if you have questions or feedback on your order, please let us know. You can email us at: patterns@rughook.com.
To learn more about our return policy, you can find it here: Honey Bee Hive Return Policy.
Any other questions?
If you an't find an answer to your question, you can contact us below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.