Give a Tufting Workshop: Gift Guide for Philadelphia

September 08, 2026

A tufting workshop is one of the few gifts that is both an experience and a thing: the person spends a few hours in a South Philly studio learning to run a tufting machine, and walks out carrying a rug they made. We've been running these at the Bok Building since 2018, and every year from October on, a good share of the people in the room are there because someone gave it to them.

Here's how to do it well.

The simplest way: a gift card

If you don't know which date they'd want — and you usually don't — buy a Tuft the World gift card. It works on any workshop or anything else in the shop. The recipient picks the class and the Saturday that suits them.

Gift cards come in set amounts from $25 to $500. To cover a specific workshop, match the value to the price below (or round up and let them put the balance toward yarn).

Which workshop to give

We run three in-person formats. They differ mainly in how long the person gets at the frame and how big a piece they make.

• Mini-tuft workshop — $75. The shortest introduction. A good gift for someone who's curious about tufting but might not want to commit a whole day, or for a teen (see below). They leave with a small tufted piece.
• Drink and Tuft — $100. An evening session with drinks and snacks. This is the one to give as a date night or a friends' night out — buy two and go together.
• One Day Tufting workshop — $150. The full course: setting up a frame, stretching cloth, threading and running the machines, and the basics of gluing and finishing. Give this to the person who has been watching tufting videos for a year and talking about buying a machine.

All three include everything — frame, cloth, yarn, machines and instruction. Nobody needs to bring anything or have any experience. If the recipient isn't in Philadelphia, there's an online beginner workshop for $50 that works anywhere with a machine at home.

What they actually get

Worth being clear about, because it's what makes this gift land. In a single workshop the person designs their own piece (roughly 24" x 24" or smaller), tufts it on a real power tufting machine with an instructor beside them, and learns how the cutting, gluing and finishing works. They take the piece home the same day. A fully backed and bound rug takes more time than one session allows, so they leave with a finished tuft and the knowledge to complete it at home — our finishing guides walk them through the rest.

For a fuller picture of the day, from parking to what to wear, read What to Expect at Your First Tufting Workshop in Philadelphia.

Where it happens

Every workshop is at our studio in the Bok Building, 1901 S. 9th Street, Room 501, Philadelphia, PA 19148 — the converted vocational high school in South Philly that's now full of maker studios. It's near the 45 and 47 buses and the Snyder and Tasker-Morris stops on the Broad Street Line. Street parking is possible but South Philly parking is what it is; we suggest transit or a rideshare at peak times.

Gifting to a kid or teen

Yes, you can. Ages 10 to 13 can attend with a parent or guardian present for the whole workshop, and ages 14 to 17 can attend on their own. A guardian signs a release beforehand. This is a real difference from most Philadelphia craft studios, which are adults-only, and a workshop makes a strong birthday gift for the kid who is always making things. Details in Tufting Workshops for Kids and Teens in Philadelphia.

Gifting to a group

If you're buying for a bunch of people at once — a bachelorette, a team, a milestone birthday — book a private session instead of individual tickets. You get the studio to yourselves and a date that suits everyone. See Private Parties and Lessons and our guide to team building and private group tufting.

Pairing the gift with something to open

If you want something physical to hand over alongside the gift card, a few things go well with it:

• Tuft the World: An Illustrated Manual to Tufting Gorgeous Rugs, Decor, and More — our book, $25.95. Read it before the class and the class makes twice as much sense.
• An enamel pin bundle — $4, and it fits in a card.

For the person who already tufts and doesn't need a class, a gift card toward yarn is never wrong.

Questions

Anything about dates, capacity, or whether a particular class suits the person you have in mind: support@tufttheworld.com. The current schedule is on the Philadelphia Tufting Workshops page.

Prices as of September 2026.

Also in Workshop info