Why is my tufting cloth coming through on the front of my rug?

February 19, 2026

It looks like your machine is cutting the cloth, or tufting little bits of it into your rug. You can always pull these strands out before you glue, but that doesn’t solve the underlying issue!

There are two main reasons this might be happening:

This could be a pressure issue. If the machine is not pressed firmly enough against the cloth, the scissors will catch the cloth as they come out and cut it. Same goes for the yarn bulging out on the back - if you aren’t pressing hard enough, the yarn will build up on the back . Read our quick start guide for tips on tufting
If pressure is not your issue, then it’s probably this common minor foot adjustment! The foot and the needle work together and need to be lined up correctly. This article on pile height adjustment includes a video on how to adjust the needle to achieve this correct alignment

To set the foot/needle relationship:

Rotate the needle to the front most position. The hole of the needle should not be in front of the foot.
Raise the foot slightly so the hole is even with or behind the foot. Make a small adjustment, and then do a test. Continue to make small adjustments until it looks right.

*Better quality cloth will help to a point, but if this relationship is off it will shred the cloth