Tufting: DIY rugs and furniture art with wool – Interview with Ankeloedts

We are fascinated by her creative works and therefore asked her all about them. How does tufting work when you do it yourself? What do you need for tufting? Which projects can you tuft? You can read the answers to these and many more questions in the blog article below. Have fun! But beware: this craft technique is just as contagious as knitting, crocheting, and macrame. So keep enough yarn ready to try this wonderful method yourself. :)

On my Instagram account, I share my creative work made from wool. Fun fact: sometimes I realize that I forgot to take a photo of a finished rug after a customer has already picked it up. I am from the older generation, so remembering to post pictures is a real task for me.

My name is Anke, I am 46 years old, and a long, long time ago I studied textile and fashion design in Belgium. My aunt had a yarn shop where I helped out every Saturday - that is how my love for wool and yarns developed. From my grandmother and my mother to my nephews, my whole family knits. 16 years ago, I moved to southern France for love. There I taught art to children and started creating one-of-a-kind pieces from wool and textiles.

When I was 8 years old, I made a beanie hat myself. We had to knit these in order to go on a ski trip with our class.

I designed my first rug 3.5 years ago. But I have only been sharing my work on Instagram for about 1.5 years - my friends practically pushed me into it. :)

You need a wooden frame, tufting cloth, a tufting machine, lots of yarn, glue, finishing fabric, and most importantly: lots of ideas!

I like working with good material so the DIY rug or tufted one-of-a-kind piece is hard-wearing and long-lasting.

I love Second Life yarn because it is recycled - but still feels very soft. All my customers are impressed when I tell them that the yarn is made from plastic bottles.

First of all, you need a design. I think of one and draw it on a sheet of paper or use the Procreate program so I can adjust the colors more easily. That was my husband’s idea, so I can save myself a lot of work. But I simply love colored pencils and paper. The tufting cloth has to be attached to the wooden frame. Then the design can be drawn onto the tufting cloth - and tufting can begin. The “drawing” has to be filled with the selected yarn. The yarn in the tufting machine must be placed in straight lines as close together as possible. Once everything is filled in, glue can be applied to the back of the entire work. It has to dry for at least 24 hours. Once everything is well dried, the DIY rug can be cut out with a small border. Finally, the fabric ends are glued inward and the back is finished with a backing fabric.

That depends on the size of the rug. For a rug measuring 80 x 50 cm, for example, I need about 5 hours.

You definitely need a lot of space and a lot of yarn.

I am especially inspired by the 70s - the colors, the design. I love looking at patterns that I find in nature. I created a collection inspired by different tree barks. I really like both vivid and muted colors - it all depends on my current inspiration.

I offer small floor rugs starting at around 200 euros. The price depends on size, time, and the material and design used. I made some pieces for the shop in St. Jean de Luz. On my website, you can get an overview of my current work.

This technique is endless; sometimes I have to stop my inspiration because I have too many ideas. I keep thinking of new things I could design.

I worked with another artist and created a huge rug measuring 2.50 x 2.20 meters. That was a very cool project, and I feel like I will soon be designing even more really large rugs.

You can be inspired by other artists, but please do not copy their ideas - because everyone puts their heart into their own creations. Follow your heart and you will enjoy your creations even more.
Well? Are you as excited as we are about these colorful works of art? If you absolutely want to try this technique and do tufting yourself, but do not have a tufting machine at home: you can also start with a punch needle. The main difference between punch needles and tufting is that tufting is done mechanically with a tufting gun, while punch needling is done by hand with a punch needle. With plenty of Gründl yarn, an embroidery hoop, fabric, and a punch needle, nothing stands in the way of your first wool wall hanging or rug.