Craft & Handwork
Rug Tufting
A tufting gun fires yarn into cloth, and a weekend makes a rug
Stretch backing cloth tight on a wooden frame, draw the design on the back, and follow it row by row with a tufting gun that punches yarn through, leaving a pile on the front. The gun, frame and cloth are the main cost, and yarn goes faster than expected. Loose cloth is the usual failure. Gluing the backing and shearing take longer than tufting. The gun is loud.
First stepGet a beginner tufting gun, a frame and backing cloth, stretch it tight, draw a simple circle on the back, and tuft a coaster-sized mat.
Barriers
Cost to start
$50–300
Going deep → $300–2k
Alone or with people
On your own
Effort
Light
Without a teacher?
Self-taught
One session takes
1–2 hours
Where
At home
Why people take it up