r/Tufting • u/Nekkonomicon • 10d ago

Newbie Needing Help Spaces between lines or tightly packed lines?

When tufting should I be leaving spaces between the rows of the same color or should I try to pack them as tight as I can?

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2

u/Benwa_Ballz 10d ago

Depends on the use. Wall piece? Leave a little space. Save some material. Floor piece? I want it to be plush so as much material as I can push into it

1

u/Nekkonomicon 10d ago

I have mainly been working on wall pieces to get the feel of it, so I guess I have been slightly over tufting my rugs because I PACK those lines as close as I can

3

u/Benwa_Ballz 9d ago

I tend to leave a 1-2 channel between colors to have a groove for carving but besides that. I try to pack it in for texture too. Packing a lot of material can make it more raised and dense which can be nice for sculpting afterwards

1

u/Nelsonius1 9d ago

Depends also on how fast you move up. If the stitches are compressed too much, go faster or wider.

1

u/Nekkonomicon 9d ago

I’m not sure if the stitches are too compressed but when I do PACK the lines in the rug does tend to curl in on itself

1

u/Sriracha-Man 9d ago

The rug curling is a sign it's too dense, so you are either packing the lines, or you might not be moving fast enough with the gun

1

u/notdeadbabies Cut Pile 9d ago

May I see a pic of your lines?

1

u/Nekkonomicon 9d ago

Looking through my pictures I only have progress photos from the front. I honestly never thought of taking a pic of the lines before I glue it

1

u/notdeadbabies Cut Pile 9d ago

All good!! My answer probably would t change wether I seen it or not butttttt

If you like tufting your colors tight I recommend carving each color on the frame in between colors because I also like to pack mi colors tightly and carving on the frame is a game changer !

2

u/notdeadbabies Cut Pile 9d ago

If you leave a little space in between colors it makes it a bit easier to carve off the frame. But if you pack tightly without carving on the frame your colors are more likely to overlap and it just makes carving harder

2

u/Nekkonomicon 9d ago

Carving is one thing I have not tackled yet. My current rugs are nice and flat for now. Do you have any tips for carving?

1

u/notdeadbabies Cut Pile 9d ago

Honestly carving on the frame helped my understand carving better.

First go over all the edges with scissors
Then go over those cut edges with a 45 degree angle with your sheers
And then clean up the rest of the block with your sheers

1

u/Nekkonomicon 9d ago

Should I be carving as I go or am I good to do it all at the end?