Having a tuft time finding tufting info & supplies

July 22, 2017 3:22 PM

Help me help my wife get into making tufted textiles, with one of those handheld sewing machine guns. I have questions below the fold.

Do you make tufted rugs or know someone who does? We're looking for someone who can answer some basic questions about getting into tufting. Bonus points for in or near Portland, OR.

Some basics:
- Is the Hofmann machine really worth the premium over something like this from Alibaba?
- Where do you buy yarn and other supplies?
- Did you build your own support frame and armature for the machine?
- Recommendations for backing fabrics?
- Any other tips or sites we should know about?

Ideally she wants to try a setup locally before spending what looks like about $1000 USD on a machine. Thanks!

posted by a halcyon day to Media & Arts (1 answer total)

Best answer: I'm in the Netherlands, so no help on the local supplies part, but i teach at three universities art's departments here, and each one has such a tufting gun. So if she wants to try one, i would say inquire with art schools, and see if they'd let her try one.

For us something students often underestimate when they want to purchase their own is the expense and the noise associated with the compressed air needed to run the tufting gun, and the dust and fibers being created using the technique.
posted by PardonMyFrench at 7:44 AM on July 24, 2017