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Amina Waweru
A tufting pattern taped to a wall frame beside a yarn basket

The pattern taped to the frame beside a basket of yarn.

A free letter, every Monday

One rug in four stages

A small arch rug on the balcony frame, from a taped-up drawing to the last pass of the clippers.

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  1. A tufting pattern taped to a wall frame beside a yarn basket
    The pattern taped to the frame beside a basket of yarn.

    01Draw

    Draw it at full size

    I tape the pattern to the wall and trace it, flipped, onto the cloth with a marker. A clear outline saves me from guessing later.

  2. A tufting gun pushing yellow and cobalt loops into a frame
    Yellow and cobalt loops going into the cloth.

    02Tuft

    Tuft the outline, then the fill

    I push the gun along the outline first, then fill each shape from the middle out. I keep the gun flat and the pace slow and even.

  3. A balcony over Nairobi with a half-tufted piece on a frame
    The half-tufted rug on its frame on the balcony.

    03Back

    Glue the back

    With the rug off the gun, I glue the back and press the backing cloth into it. The glue needs a full day in warm air before I touch it again.

  4. Hands trimming a cobalt and cream tufted rug with clippers
    Clippers going over a cobalt and cream rug.

    04Finish

    Shear and trim

    I clip the loops to an even pile, trim the edge and fold it under. It is slow work, and the part where the pattern finally shows.

Past issues

  1. 31

    Drawing a rug before you tuft it

    A pencil, a marker and a drawing the size of the rug, taped to the wall.

    Nov 9, 202611 min readRead: Drawing a rug before you tuft it
  2. 30

    Tufting the outline first, then the fill

    Why the line goes in before the colour, and which way the gun moves.

    Nov 2, 202614 min readRead: Tufting the outline first, then the fill
  3. 29

    Why I tuft on a frame with a tight cloth

    How tight is tight enough, and what happens when it is not.

    Oct 26, 20269 min readRead: Why I tuft on a frame with a tight cloth
  4. 28

    Shearing a rug flat with clippers

    Taking the loops down to an even pile, one slow pass at a time.

    Oct 19, 202612 min readRead: Shearing a rug flat with clippers
  5. 27

    Choosing yarn for a tufted rug

    Wool, acrylic and cotton, and what each does under the gun.

    Oct 12, 20268 min readRead: Choosing yarn for a tufted rug
  6. 26

    Gluing the back of a rug and waiting for it to dry

    The coat of glue, the backing cloth and how long to leave it.

    Oct 5, 202610 min readRead: Gluing the back of a rug and waiting for it to dry

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A balcony over Nairobi with a half-tufted piece on a frame

About me

I tuft on a frame on my balcony in Nairobi, with the sun on the yarn and a basket of colours at my feet. I bought a tufting gun for one small rug and have not put it down since.

I draw every pattern myself, tuft it and then draw it again, so each pattern shows only what really worked. A letter goes out every Monday with one rug in progress and what I learned making it.