Tufting
FAQ

Tufting is a way of making rugs and mats by shooting yarn into tufting cloth with a special tool called a tufting gun. The results are also called tufted rugs or hand-tufted rugs. Now that tufting guns are widely available, it's easy to try it at a studio or at home.

Yes. The basics of using a tufting gun take very little time to learn, and you'll get the hang of it quickly. At a workshop, the instructor shows you how to handle the gun and lets you practice first, so even people who don't think of themselves as handy soon feel comfortable.

At a workshop, all the tools are ready for you and an instructor teaches you, so you can come almost empty-handed. Tufting at home means buying a full set of tools up front and having space to work, but you can make any size and design you like. If it's your first time, we recommend trying a workshop first.

A tufting gun is a power tool with a needle and a cutting blade that move at high speed, so it needs careful handling. If you follow basic safety rules, such as switching it off when you're not using it, beginners can enjoy it safely.

Most workshops let you make a piece in a size set by the studio, from a coaster to a mirror frame or a rug. The sizes you can choose and how much freedom you have with the design vary by studio, so check the studio's website or social media before you book.

Age limits and whether parents and children can take part together vary by studio. If you'd like to go with children, check the studio's website or social media for its rules before you book.

Yes, you can start at home. You'll need space to set up a frame, and a plan for dealing with the noise, the yarn fluff and the smell of the glue. We cover this in detail in our guide to starting at home.

A workshop usually costs about ¥5,000–28,000, depending on the size of the piece you make. To start at home, the five basics (a tufting gun, a frame, tufting cloth, yarn and glue) come to about ¥51,000–86,000.

If you're considerate, for example by working during the day, it rarely causes trouble, even in an apartment building. Heard from 1 m away, the gun is about as loud as a typical vacuum cleaner. From 4–5 m away, it's about as quiet as a kitchen exhaust fan or a heater.

It depends on the size, the design and the number of colors, but an A4-sized piece takes about 1–2 hours and a 40 × 40 cm piece about 2–4 hours. After that, the glue needs about a day to dry before you finish the rug.

Yes, in small areas. If the yarn went in properly, you can pull it out and tuft it again. Keep in mind that re-tufting the same spot can weaken the tufting cloth.

We recommend buying from a seller based in Japan. Tufting guns can vary quite a bit from one unit to another, so it helps to buy from a seller you can easily contact if something goes wrong. We list shops that sell tufting tools on our "Where to buy tufting tools" page.

As long as it isn't extremely thick or thin, you can use almost any yarn.

It's best not to wash the whole rug. We recommend vacuuming it gently and wiping only the dirty spots with a little diluted mild detergent.