Tufting Cloth: What It Is and How to Use It

October 03, 2026

Tufting cloth is the woven fabric that you tuft into. Not all fabrics work — you need a cloth specifically designed for tufting.

Primary White Tufting Cloth

TTW's Primary White Tufting Cloth is the industry standard. It's designed specifically for use with tufting machines — the weave structure is engineered to let the needle pass through cleanly while holding the yarn loops in place. It's available by the yard and is suitable for both cut pile and loop pile work.

How Much to Buy

Order enough cloth to cover your design plus a generous allowance on all sides — typically 4–6 inches extra per side. You need this extra cloth to grip onto the carpet tack strips of your frame. If your cloth is too small for the frame, it won't stretch properly and your tufting will be uneven.

Preparing Your Cloth

Transfer your design onto the cloth before mounting it on the frame. A permanent marker or chalk works well. Remember that you're drawing on the back of the cloth — your design will appear mirrored on the front pile side. If your design is asymmetrical (like text or a face), mirror it when you draw it on the back.

Mounting on the Frame

Stretch the cloth onto the frame's carpet tack strips, starting from the center of each side and working outward. The cloth should feel taut and firm — similar to a drum skin. Uneven tension leads to uneven pile, so take your time getting it right.

Grey Tufting Cloth: Open Weave

Our grey tufting cloth is made in Germany and is used by professional tufting factories around the world. The grey cloth we currently stock is a more open weave than the tighter weave some long-time customers may remember. We use this open weave in our own production without issues, on rugs up to 10 × 13 feet.

The key with open-weave cloth is getting it as tight as humanly possible on your frame. If you'd prefer a different feel, our Primary White Tufting Cloth is also a great option. We use it pretty much every day.

Premium Gray Tufting Cloth (German-Made)

In addition to our Primary White Tufting Cloth, we carry a premium, German-made gray tufting cloth — the same fabric we use on our own CNC tufting machine.

• Width: 4.6 meters (about 13.8 feet)
• Sold in: 10-yard pieces (30 feet × 13.8 feet)
• Price: $325 per 10-yard piece

Because it's sold by the 10-yard piece, plan your large projects around the 13.8-foot width. Stock can vary — if it's out, contact support@tufttheworld.com for an estimated restock time.

Large and Custom Cloth Lengths

Primary tufting cloth also comes in gray. If you need a length we don't stock, we can special-order white primary cloth cut to any custom size up to 20 yards. This is handy for very large frames where you want one piece instead of seaming panels together.

Custom pieces are cut to order. Standard sea shipping takes about 45 days from order to arrival. Faster air cargo is available, at about 14–18 days, but shipping costs are significant. Case-quantity price breaks may be available, so contact support@tufttheworld.com for a quote.

Gray Primary Tufting Cloth and 10-Yard Pieces

We also carry Premium Primary Tufting Cloth in Gray, sold by the yard and in 10-yard pieces. A 10-yard piece measures about 360" × 165".

We no longer stock 10-yard pieces of white primary cloth. We can special order one for you, but expect it to take about 35 days to arrive. If you need cloth sooner, the gray works the same way and is usually the faster option. Contact support@tufttheworld.com to place a special order.

Cloth Width and Available Sizes

Our Primary White Tufting Cloth is sold by the yard and is 157" wide, so a 1-yard piece measures 36" × 157". We stock pieces up to 5 yards. Larger pieces (such as 10 yards) can be special ordered and shipped direct, which takes about 12 days to arrive.

Keep in mind a 10-yard piece is roughly 14 feet wide × 30 feet long and can be hard to manage, so unless you need one continuous piece that large, we recommend buying smaller pieces. Bulk discounts are available. Contact support@tufttheworld.com for details.

Buying Cloth for a 6' × 8' Frame

If you work on a 6' × 8' frame, buy primary tufting cloth in 3-yard pieces. Each 3-yard piece gives you exactly 2 frame-sized pieces with little to no waste. For other frame sizes, see the chart in our frame-building guide.

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