Guide · For the trade
Tufted carpet vs woven carpet: how each is made and what that means on the spec
Tufted carpet is made by needles punching yarn through a pre-made backing, which is then glued to a second backing; woven carpet is made on a loom, where the face yarn and the backing yarns are interlaced in one pass. Tufting is faster and less expensive and makes most residential broadloom, including nearly all nylon; weaving, as Wilton or Axminster, locks the pattern into the structure, holds its shape for decades and is the construction behind the best wool patterns and stair runners. In our library, 897 tufted styles sit beside 952 Wiltons and 58 Axminsters.
This is the constructions guide, for the designer reading "tufted" or "woven" on a spec sheet and the junior pulling samples for both: how each is made, how to read it on the back of a sample, the differences in pattern, stability and lead time, where each belongs and the hand-tufted rug that shares the word.
How tufted carpet is made
A tufting machine is a row of hundreds of needles across a 12 or 15 foot width. Each needle punches a yarn end through a woven polypropylene primary backing and a looper underneath catches and holds a loop. Leave the loops and the carpet is a loop pile; cut them and it is a cut pile; mix the two and it is a cut-and-loop texture. The needle spacing is the gauge (1/8, 1/10 and 5/32 inch are common) and the stitches per inch set the density with it. The back is then coated with latex and a secondary backing is pressed on. A tufted carpet's durability comes from three numbers on the spec sheet: face weight in ounces per square yard, pile height and the density that results. Masland's and Milliken's tufted nylons in our library carry Class I radiant panel ratings and CRI Green Label Plus certificates across the lines.
How woven carpet is made
On a loom, the pile yarn and the backing yarns are woven together at once, so the pile is anchored in the structure rather than glued to it. A Wilton loom carries the pattern colors as continuous yarns through the backing and lifts each to the face where the design calls for it, in loop, cut or cut-and-loop, in up to about five colors. An Axminster loom inserts each tuft individually from a gripper, so it weaves unlimited colors, which is why it is the hospitality and the floral construction. Woven widths are 12 ft and 13 ft 2 in (4 m), with some wool Wiltons in 15 ft. The Wilton vs Axminster guide covers the two in detail; the point here is what they share against tufted.
Tufted carpet vs woven carpet in one table
| Factor | Tufted | Woven (Wilton, Axminster) |
|---|---|---|
| How the yarn is held | Punched through a backing and glued with latex | Interlaced with the backing yarns on the loom |
| Pattern | Texture, tone-on-tone, printed or dyed; multicolor patterns by tufting in colored yarns at lower definition | Sharp, structural; Wilton to about 5 colors, Axminster unlimited |
| Dimensional stability | Good; depends on the latex and the secondary backing | Highest; does not stretch, delaminate or ripple |
| Fibers | Nylon, wool, polyester, triexta, polypropylene | Wool and wool blends mostly; some polypropylene and polyester Wiltons |
| Roll width | 12 ft and 15 ft | 12 ft, 13 ft 2 in (4 m), some 15 ft |
| Lead time, made to order | 2 to 6 weeks | 4 to 12 weeks; custom colors longer |
| Cost | Lowest per square yard for a given fiber | Higher; the loom is slower and the yarn count is higher |
| Life in a residence | 10 to 15 years in a good nylon or wool | 20 to 30 years in a wool Wilton |
How to tell them apart on a sample
Turn it over. A tufted carpet shows a smooth secondary backing with a faint grid and the face yarn is not visible from the back; fold the sample and you see rows of tufts standing in the latex. A woven carpet shows the pattern on the back in reverse, in the face colors, because the pattern yarns run through the structure and the back feels stiff and fabric-like. The hand tufted vs hand knotted guide uses the same test for rugs.
Where tufted belongs
Most of the house: bedrooms, family rooms, media rooms, upper halls and any room where the carpet is a soft solid or a texture rather than a pattern. It is the construction for solution-dyed nylon, so a project with dogs or kids in a plain color is a tufted spec and it is behind most 15-foot rolls, which lets a 14-foot room go in without a seam. Emery Park, Milliken, Masland, Fabrica and Stanton's tufted lines are the deepest in our library; the tufted filter lists all 897. For pattern in tufted, look to cut-and-loop textures.
Where woven belongs
Stairs, halls, dining rooms, formal rooms and anywhere a pattern is the point. A Wilton loop or cut-and-loop is the most durable stair runner construction in the library; 38 of our 59 dedicated stair runner styles are Wilton. Wool Wiltons from Prestige Mills, Couristan, Bloomsburg, Kane and Bellbridge make up most of the 952 woven styles and Bloomsburg's wool Wiltons carry Green Label Plus certificates for a project that needs the paperwork. Woven is also the answer when the client expects a 20-year floor and the budget is set accordingly. The Wilton filter and the Axminster filter are the two to browse.
Hand tufted carpet: the rug that shares the name
A hand tufted rug is the same principle done with a hand-held tufting gun on a stretched canvas, then latexed and backed with cotton. It is a rug construction, not a broadloom one and it is where "tufted" picks up its reputation for shedding and a stiff back; a machine-tufted broadloom from a mill has neither. When a spec sheet or a client says tufted, confirm which they mean. Our hand-tufted filter lists 592 rug styles; the broadloom is under tufted.
Questions designers ask
What does tufted mean on a carpet spec sheet?
The yarn was needle-punched through a primary backing and held with latex and a secondary backing rather than woven on a loom. The sheet will give gauge, stitches per inch, face weight and pile height; those four numbers describe the quality. Most residential nylon and much wool broadloom is tufted.
How can you tell whether a rug is hand-knotted or tufted?
From the back. A hand-knotted rug shows the pattern on the back in knots, with no backing cloth and the fringe is the warp. A tufted rug, hand or machine, has a backing cloth glued over the back and any fringe is sewn on. A woven broadloom sits between: the pattern shows on the back as a continuous woven cloth, not knots.
What is the 70 percent rule for rugs?
A rug covers about 70 percent of the floor area, or the furniture group it serves, with 12 to 18 inches of floor at the walls. A tufted or woven broadloom cut and bound to that size is often the right answer in a large room.
Is a tufted carpet lower quality than a woven one?
Not by construction alone. A dense tufted nylon at 50 oz face weight outlasts a thin woven polypropylene. Within the same fiber and weight, the woven holds its pattern and shape longer and costs more. Tufted for soft solids and textures across the house; woven for patterns, stairs and the long-life floors.
Browse: tufted carpet · Wilton carpet · Axminster carpet · Wilton vs Axminster · broadloom carpet