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Image selection guide

Which images are ideal for a tufted rug, and which ones to avoid, so your finished piece is both beautiful and true to what you pictured. Happy tufting!

Good for tufting

  • Simple colors. A limited palette with a clear break between each color.
  • Clear outlines. Bold, well-defined lines keep the design crisp.
  • Simple shapes. Circles, hearts, stars and basic geometric patterns.
  • Flat cartoon style. Flat, 2D designs with no shading or depth.

Hard to tuft

  • Shadows and gradients. Yarn comes in solid colors, so soft shading turns muddy.
  • Words and thin lines. Text and fine lines lose their definition once tufted.
  • Sharp angles and fine detail. Intricate details are hard to tuft cleanly.
  • Photorealism. Realistic photos, especially faces and complex shading, don’t translate well.

Examples

What kind of image works best for a tufted rug?

Simple images work best, especially for your first rug. Look for bold shapes, and keep outlines, thin lines, small details and lettering to a minimum. Keep the outer edge simple too: a square or rectangle background is ideal. Unusual outlines can add hours to finishing your rug.

  • A simple sunset design made of a few bold color areas
    Works
  • A busy poster with lettering, outlines and many small elements
    Avoid

Can my design have a gradient?

Not a smooth one. Yarn comes in solid colors, so break the gradient into a few flat bands of color.

  • Five flat stripes of blue, from light to dark
    Works
  • A smooth blue gradient
    Avoid

Can I use a photo of a toy, or of a rug I already have?

We need a flat 2D image. For a rug, use a straight-on photo taken from directly above. For a toy or character, find a flat drawing of it instead: photos of objects have angles and shadows that don’t carry over.

  • A flat, straight-on image of a daisy pattern
    Works
  • An angled photo of a daisy rug on the floor
    Avoid
  • A flat drawing of a peach character with a bow
    Works
  • A photo of the same character as a plush toy
    Avoid

My image has lots of characters in it. Can I use it?

Crop it down to one character. Repeating patterns and crowded scenes have too much going on for one rug.

  • A finished rug of a single capybara in a hot spring
    Works
  • A busy repeating pattern of many capybaras
    Avoid

Can I make a rug of my pet?

Yes. Turn the photo into an illustration first by posterizing it down to 2–3 color values. This free posterize tool (opens in a new tab) works well, and AI image tools can help too.

  • An illustrated border collie in black, white and gray
    Works
  • An illustrated terrier in a few flat tan and brown tones
    Works
  • An unedited photo of a border collie
    Avoid
  • An unedited photo of a terrier
    Avoid

What about small dots or details floating on their own?

Small dots, lines or details that stand apart need to connect to a background or a border.

  • A tufted Pochacco on a solid square background
    Works
  • A line drawing of Pochacco with small floating marks around it
    Avoid

Can my rug have an irregular or hollow shape?

One main object with a clean outline works. Crop to it and leave out the extras. The rug also can’t have open gaps, like the spaces between leaves, so fill them in or add a border around the design.

  • A rug shaped like Cinnamoroll’s face
    Works
  • Cinnamoroll on a cloud holding balloons, with an irregular outline
    Avoid
  • A monstera leaf rug with a solid border that fills the gaps
    Works
  • Monstera leaf rugs with open gaps between the leaf sections
    Avoid
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