Adventures with my New Tufting Gun!

Adventures with my New Tufting Gun!

Finally get to try out my new tufting gun. It’s like rug hooking or punch needle machine gun. Padda padda padda! Whooo hoooo! Pretty wild! 

I already had the frame prepared with the canvas stretched across it. Getting the frame to hold still while I tuft is the first hurdle. I try holding it with my feet against a table top while shooting with both hands. Hmm. Pretty shaky; tufts come out irregular sized.  Then I clamp the frame to an upside down table which is clamped to the work table. Nice. Sturdy.

I wish I could just draw freehand with my tufting gun, but this is a one way shooter, and that way is just up. Up straight, curved, or diagonal. Mostly people seem to like filling in shapes with lines. Turns out that is the easiest, so I start with that. 

My first project is with homespun merino yarn, a great big ball of it. It works in my gun! What a relief. Just white, just one shape: a cloud. I love clouds; their fractal changing nature, their shapes. Especially the fat fluffy ones that look like sheep.

Some people glue the back to hold the loops in place. The natural latex in my bottle, left over from making soles for felted shoes, has dried up. 

My idea for a natural way to hold it together is to felt it in the back. So I put some loose merino roving on the back, and wet it down with soap, rubbing it gently to adhere the roving to the yarn in the back. Later I stomp it around in the shower to get a good hard join. When I take it out, I have a lovely sheet of felt that peels right off the rug. Oh well. 

So instead I opt for nothing. I sew down the sides of the backing fabric. 

Looks good. Goes well with the sky and clouds motif in the bedroom. Feels good too. We will see how it wears.

“I loved the Little Lulu stories, where she would fantasize that her bedroom rug would turn into a pool of water, and she could dive down into the center of the world.” - Lynn Johnston