A hands-on creative experience that’s perfect for dates, friends, or a solo reset.
What is Rug Tufting?
Rug tufting is a hands-on creative process where you use a tufting gun to punch yarn through a canvas made with a tightly stretched fabric. The result is a custom rug or art piece that you design yourself! It can be easy to learn, but you need a lot of patience and you must be okay with making mistakes.
What makes rug tufting especially fun is how immersive the whole process is, from choosing your own design, to watching your idea come into fruition in real time.
In Seattle (south of, in Tukwila), Tutugether offers this experience to people of all skill levels. It’s a fun, hands-on activity that encourages creativity while still being structured enough to feel accessible, which is perfect for anyone looking for a unique date idea or fun activity with friends.
The Rug Tufting Experience at Tutugether
Before You Start
Design Selection. Choose your design very wisely. If you have no prior experience like myself, I would highly suggest avoiding any design that has really intricate details (unless you want an extra challenge). Think more straight lines and bigger spaces vs squiggles and thin lines. I chose to make a rug out of Miffy because a) I love her, and b) the gaps between each line are quite big. Make sure to save a copy of your design to your phone before showing up!
Materials. If you go to a place like Tutugether, you won’t have to worry about bringing anything but yourself and your design. They have everything that you will need, which isn’t much, just a tufting gun, some yarn, and a tightly stretched fabric.
Instructor Guidance. Be prepared to listen and watch carefully. Before starting on your design, the instructor will teach you everything that you need to know to operate the tufting gun and how to navigate the lines and fill in the colors of your design. You will get to practice tufting a few lines before they release you. If you have any questions at all, don’t be afraid to ask! Once you start tufting, it would be quite hard to undo any mistakes.
During the Experience
Learning Curve. The biggest challenge I faced was learning how to follow the curves of my design. If you know Miffy (or if you look at my design), you’ll see that it’s mostly all curved and there are barely any straight lines. However, with a little (actually a lot of) patience, I got the hang of it after a little while. And I had to be okay with making mistakes here and there, and just had to remind myself that I was there for the experience.
How Long It Took. It took us three hours to make a small rug (they said 2-3 and we used up most of the timeslot allotted to us), but it didn’t feel that way! Because of how immersive the whole process was, time really flew by. Be prepared to have your arm and back hurt after a while though, as this would require you to press hard onto the canvas and stay in that position until you finish the lines you’re working on.
After
Here’s the final result! She’s not perfect, but she’s still SO cute! After three hours of tufting, seeing our finished rug felt incredibly rewarding. There’s something special about walking away with something you made with your own hands, especially knowing that this is the only one of its kind in the world, imperfections and all.
Would I Do It Again?
Absolutely! It was such a fun experience, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I would recommend it to anyone looking for something creative to do with a partner or friends, and if you are in the area and decide to go to Tutugether, they even let you host your special day there!
Quick Tips If You Want to Try Rug Tufting
- What to wear: Wear something comfortable, something that you can sit in for 3+ hours.
- Time commitment: Depending on the size of your rug and your skillset, it could take more than 3 hours. Here’s Tutugether’s guidelines:
- Small: ~2-3 hours
- Medium: ~3-4 hours
- Large: >5 hours
- Booking ahead: I would highly suggest booking ahead, especially since this whole process takes so long. It helps you plan your day around your timeslot, and it ensures that you get a spot! Book now on https://tutugetherwa.com/booking-sea/.
- Who to bring: Bring your partner, your friends, or come alone – just make sure if you are working with another person on the same rug, that you are both patient.
Welcome to By Bernice ♡︎ 
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