Guide · For the trade
Custom tufted rug: when hand tufted is the right construction for a custom design
A custom tufted rug is a one-off design hand tufted in wool, wool and silk or wool and Tencel on a stretched cloth, then backed with latex and a scrim and finished with carving or multi-level pile if the design calls for it. It is the custom construction for lettering, logos, tight curves, sculpted texture and large sizes on a schedule, at a cost well below hand-knotted. Through Interiors the program is a rendering in your colors, a tufted strike-off in 4 to 6 weeks, and production in 18 to 20 weeks, installed anywhere in the country.
This guide is for the designer who has a drawing, a fabric or a client's artwork and needs to know whether hand tufted is the way to make it. It covers what the construction can do that others cannot, the design rules the tufter works to, fibers and pile, the process, what we need to quote, and the questions clients ask. The custom rugs guide covers the three custom programs; the hand tufted vs hand knotted guide covers the construction itself.
Why custom work so often lands on hand tufted
Hand tufting draws the design directly: the pattern is printed on the primary cloth at full scale and the tufter follows the lines with a tufting gun, which means a curve, a letter, a brushstroke or a client's monogram comes out as drawn. Hand-knotted work resolves the same design into a grid of knots, which softens curves and makes lettering a compromise below a certain scale. Tufting is also fast per square foot, so a 12x18 or a 14x24 in a single piece is realistic, and multi-level pile, carving along the pattern edges and loop-and-cut combinations are all native to the method. The catalog's 592 hand-tufted styles are standard patterns; the custom program uses the same frames for your design.
What the construction can do, side by side
| Custom construction | Curves and lettering | Pile options | Largest practical single piece | Lead time through Interiors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand tufted | As drawn, down to about 1/4 in line width | Cut, loop, cut-and-loop, carved, 1/4 to 3/4 in | 14 by 24 ft and larger | Strike-off 4 to 6 weeks, production 18 to 20 weeks |
| Hand knotted | Resolved to the knot grid; fine at 100 knots per sq in and up | Cut pile, 1/4 to 1/2 in; some loop | About 14 by 20 ft on standard looms | Strike-off 4 to 6 weeks, production 18 to 20 weeks |
| Hand loomed | Stripes, blocks, simple geometry | Cut or loop, 1/4 to 5/8 in | Loom width, seamed beyond | Shorter; quoted by the mill program |
| Cut and bound broadloom | None; the broadloom's pattern | As the broadloom | Roll width, seamed beyond | 3 to 5 weeks |
Design rules the tufter works to
Line weight first: a cut-pile line thinner than about 1/4 inch blurs, and a loop line under 3/8 inch fills in, so lettering is scaled up or simplified. Color count is open, but each color is a separate yarn, and more than 12 to 15 colors in a dense design slows production and raises the quote. Gradients are done as stepped bands or by blending two yarns in the gun; a true fade is a hand-knotted or a printed effect, not a tufted one. Carving, where the tufter bevels the pile along a pattern edge after shearing, gives a clean outline and is included in most quotes. Multi-level pile, cut at 1/2 inch against loop at 1/4 inch, is the easiest way to add depth to a tone-on-tone design. Borders are tufted in, or a fabric or leather border is applied at finishing; the rug borders guide shows the options.
Fibers and pile for a hand tufted custom rug
New Zealand wool is the default, because it takes clear color, carves cleanly and recovers from furniture. Wool with a silk, Tencel or viscose accent adds a sheen line to a pattern, and is fine in a bedroom or a formal living room; those accent fibers stain with water and are kept out of entries, dining rooms and anywhere with a dog. Pile height runs 1/4 to 3/4 inch; keep it at or under 1/2 inch under a dining table or a desk chair. A tufted rug has a latex-and-scrim back, so it is not reversible, it is not for a bathroom or a covered porch, and it sheds loose wool for the first few months, which the shedding guide explains to the client.
The process, step by step
- Brief: size, shape, the artwork or the look, colors as poms, Pantone or fabric, the room and the install date, through the Design Studio form or by email.
- Rendering: the design redrawn for the tufting cloth, in your colors, with the fiber, pile and quote. Revisions are normal.
- Strike-off: a tufted sample, usually 18 by 18 inches or the detail that matters most, such as the logo at full scale, in 4 to 6 weeks. Approve or revise.
- Production: 18 to 20 weeks after approval and deposit, with photos from the frame at the midpoint.
- Delivery: freight to the site and installation by our network, over a 1/4 inch felt-and-rubber pad, anywhere in the United States.
Designs created with Interiors are made through Interiors; renderings and strike-offs are produced for the project they are quoted on.
A note on the tufting-gun search results
Most of what comes up for custom tufted rugs online is hobby tufting: acrylic yarn on a small frame, sold as wall art or small mats. Trade hand tufting is a different product, in wool on a full-scale frame with a woven scrim back, finished to a pile and a density that take furniture and traffic for decades. When a client sends a link to one of the hobby pieces, the rendering and the strike-off are the quickest way to show the difference.
Questions designers ask
How much does a custom tufted rug cost?
Less than hand-knotted and more than a bound broadloom rug, priced by the square foot with the fiber, color count, carving and borders as the variables. Net pricing is quoted to approved trade accounts with the rendering; a strike-off fee is credited against the order.
How long does a custom hand tufted rug take?
Rendering in about two weeks, a tufted strike-off in 4 to 6 weeks, and production in 18 to 20 weeks after approval, then freight and installation. Plan on four to six months from the approved rendering to the install.
Can a logo or lettering be tufted?
Yes, and it is the construction we recommend for it. Lines should be 1/4 inch or wider in cut pile; we scale the artwork and tuft the logo itself as the strike-off so the client approves it at full size. The logo rugs guide covers artwork files.
How large can a hand tufted rug be made in one piece?
Well beyond the standard sizes: 14 by 24 feet in one piece is routine, and larger rugs are tufted in sections and joined at the back so the seam does not read. Shapes are free, since the cloth is cut after tufting.
Will a hand tufted custom rug last?
In wool, over a pad, in a living room or bedroom, 15 to 20 years is a fair expectation; the latex back is the component that ages first. It is not the construction for a mudroom, a wet room or a commercial lobby, where a woven or hand-knotted piece belongs.
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