Designing Your Tufted Masterpiece!

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

​Yay, you are going to tuft your own rug! How awesome is that? Now, you might have some cool things in mind, and most of them are possible to make on your first try, but sometimes people get a little bit too ambitious. We love that, but we also like it when you feel confident and happy with your first little rug. We only send home happy tufters! So, here's what to keep in mind while designing your tufted masterpiece?

Dont’s

1. Details: small details are very hard to achieve on your first try. Bigger shapes come out a lot better in your rug, so try to stick to bigger forms.
 

2. Lots of colours: the more colours you use, the longer it will take you to tuft your piece. You have time, no worries, but it is good to stick to about 3 - 5 colours in your piece. That way, you are sure you can finish it! (If you booked the 3-hour workshop, there is a limit of 3 colours)

3. Height differences: We get many questions on how to achieve a height difference. We have all seen the cool mossy designs with lots of height differences. I wish we could do that! This effect can only be acheived with an AK-III gun that works on an air compressor. In our workshops, we only work with the AK-I and the AK-II (yes, named after real guns... I didn’t name them...), or the Cut Pile Gun, and Loop Pile Gun. (If you booked the 3-hour workshop, we only use the AK-1 tufting gun due to time constraints).

4. Colours that are too similar: Try to use colours that are not too similar. Because it’s yarn, it is very hard to distinguish black from brown or grey from beige. If you want to use colours that are quite similar, make sure there is another colour that breaks the two up, so you can see the distinction between the two.

5. Thin lines: when you create thin lines in your work, there is a chance of the wool mixing with the surrounding wool If you have a white line and a black line next to each other, it will mix together a little bit sometimes. Thicker lines are easier and come out better than thin ones.

Do’s

​EVERTHING ELSE. Go wild!

 

How To Transfer Your Design To The Cloth?


- You can print out and bring your sized design to the workshop:

  1.  Day workshop: A2

  2.  3-hour workshop: 30 x 40 

  3. Pillow workshop 40 x 40 

  4. Tuft-a-Mirror workshop 40 x 52

When you print it, make sure you print it MIRRORED. Because we work on the reverse side of the design, numbers and letters will be mirrored on the finished side. It's important to consider when selecting your design as this can add a level of complication on the day when you transpose your design to the tufting cloth.

- If you don’t want to print it, make sure you can draw it on the cloth by hand. We don’t use a projector in our group workshops.​

Still not sure what to make? E-mail us and we will help you. You can also decide on the spot, if that's your preference.