12 First Rugs, Most Made With a Tufting Gun or Punch Needle, Like a 100-Hour Moss Rug

“The first time I’ve ever made a rug and of course I had to make it or my dog!”

Here is the rug I made of my dog!
This was not an easy process! I’ll admit I cried within 5 minutes as I felt I ruined it.
Personally I think it’s cute and I’m quite proud of it.
Plus my doggo seems to very much love sitting on his own face haha!

It took about 8 hours to complete, stitch does seem to enjoy it! Just worried how I clean it without ruining it haha

“Completed My First Project!”

The rug is my own design, approximately 2×2m, and took me over 6 months to complete.

I am insanely proud and it turned out way better than I thought it would. So any beginners out there scared to go for it, this is your sign to throw caution to the wind and dream BIG.

I did it in two parts, with a frame my amazing partner made for me. Then I hand stitched the two sides together using 10 ply crochet/knitting yarn. You can slightly see the line where the two sides meet, but it personally doesn’t bother me (and idk how else to make a project this big).

It’s not perfect, but I LOVE IT.

all punch needle! And let me tell you, my hand and arm were SORE hahah

“Don’t have a yard so decided to get into tufting instead”

Like many others I came across tufting out of nowhere and fell into the rabbithole :D

So far I’ve been mostly trying my hand at recreating natural textures, color blending with the wool and sculpting. As you can see in the fifth photo, it took a bit of practice.

The mossy designs require slightly less precision and although my technique has definitely improved, there’s still a lot to learn. Nonetheless I am proud of my first few rugs!

lmao yes, I occasionally vacuum my yard now instead

“first project!”

i’ve been seeing these moss rugs everywhere, and i had to have one. i’m nothing if not over ambitious, so i bought a punch needle and 100+ hours later here we are!

bonus points for pom-pom rocks and some crochet mushrooms

i just used some scrap wood from my garage to make a rectangle and then stapled my monks cloth to it. i had to put a center bar to keep it from warping tho, which made punching the middle a little difficult

“I turned my cat into a rug!”

I was just meaning that I drew a simplified portrait of her and then tufted it! Lol I swear no cats were harmed in this project <3!!

“Finished my first rug! It was a lengthy process but I learned a lot :)”

I would estimate it took 50+ hours from ideation to finish. It’s approximately 2’ x 3’ and I used the wooden frame from an old canvas and used a staple gun to stretch the monks cloth.

“my first large rug, koi pond.”

My own design :) I freehanded the sketch.

Took around a week :)

“First Punch Needle Piece! Really proud of it”

It was not as beginner friendly as I had hoped given this is my first time doing punch needle. It provided all of the materials (plus plenty of extras) and gave directions on how to thread the needle and which colors to use, but that was it. I just kind of winged it. It’s not exactly like the advertised picture, but I still like what I accomplished.

there were definitely some points I was questioning my sanity with this 😅 I think the thread in the coat area is hanging on by hopes and dreams because that section just got so overworked trying to keep the thread in 😬

“Husband sometimes draws cards for me with us as otters. Now I gifted him a punch needle version of us.”

I tried to make them fluffy with cutting the loops and using both sidesof the loops in one project. This ist the first time this turned out okay.

I love that my husband does this. He also leaves little sketches with notes everywhere in our flat. Sometimes I find them a year later and even he hast forgotten. I’m always very happy whenever I find one and I hope he appropriates to get one back.

“This used to be t-shirts my family had outgrown, now it’s a 30-inch rug!”

I cut the shirts into strips, stretched them out until they got really thin and kind of tube-like, and cut small holes in each end to thread them together into one long piece.

“My first rug. Hand punched, glued and trimmed with sheep shears. It’s not perfect but I had so much fun”

Cutting the loops is so much work, especially on the edges however if I leave the loops the chances of them getting pulled out increase significantly with cats around. The rug will go in my 7yo’s room and I really want it to last.

“60+ hours later...”

lmao my gun literally screams at me with beeping constantly because it jams from the density I need 😅 It worries me about how long it will last

this was my first rug lol, as long as you stay consistent and focus on improving your craft you will get lots better! it takes time!