What is
tufting?

Tufting is a technique for making rugs and mats by shooting yarn into cloth with a special gun.
The results are also called tufted rugs or hand-tufted rugs. Now that tufting guns are easy to get hold of, anyone can enjoy it at a studio or at home.
It looks difficult, but it doesn’t take long to get the hang of, and you don’t need any sewing or craft experience.
This guide walks you through what tufting is, what you need, and where you can try it.

A gun that “shoots” yarn into cloth

It works a bit like a sewing machine. You hold the gun against tightly stretched tufting cloth and pull the trigger, and the yarn threaded through the needle is punched into the cloth.
There are two main types of tufting gun: cut pile and loop pile. There are many models, such as the AK-1, AK-2 and AK-5, but this one difference is all you need to know to start with.

What you need to get started

To start at home, you need five things: a tufting gun, a frame, tufting cloth, yarn, and glue. We explain how to choose each one, and what to watch out for when picking a gun, in Choosing your first tools.

At a workshop, everything is provided, so the safe approach is to try it there once, then decide whether to buy your own tools.

How a rug comes together

First, decide what to make. Tufting doesn’t handle fine detail well, so patterns, lines and gaps look best when they are at least 1 cm wide at actual size. Once the design is ready, you work through these five steps.

1. 01 Stretch the cloth on the frame Pull it tight enough that it makes a sound when you flick it, with the weave running straight up and across. This step decides how easy it is to tuft.
2. 02 Draw the design You tuft from the back of the rug, so draw the design mirrored. Don't press down hard with the pen — let it glide.
3. 03 Tuft the yarn Hold the gun at 90 degrees to the cloth, with its foot flat against it as you move. For each color, tuft the outline first, then fill in the inside.
4. 04 Glue and finish the back Spread glue evenly over the back to lock the yarn in place. Once it is dry, attach a backing such as mesh or felt.
5. 05 Trim the surface Shave the pile lightly with clippers, several times over, to even it out; this makes the edges between colors crisp.

Try it once first

Before buying any tools, we recommend trying a workshop once. A mini rug about the size of an A4 sheet takes around 1–2 hours. Workshops cost about ¥5,000–28,000, depending on the size you make. You use the studio’s tools and materials, so you can turn up almost empty-handed.

We cover how much it costs and how much space you need to start at home in Starting at home.