Your tufting machine only moves forward. Not left, not right, not sideways. Forward, relative to the gun. If you want to change direction, you turn the entire machine to face where you want to go, then keep pushing forward.
Can I tuft curves?
Yes. You rotate the gun gradually as you move, like steering a car. The gun is still moving forward from its own perspective. You’re turning it, not dragging it sideways. But curves come with a trade-off. Our tufting cloth is woven as a grid, and curves work against that grid. This puts more stress on the fabric and increases your risk of tearing it. This is especially true for cotton-polyester blend cloth, which isn’t quite as tough as 100% polyester tufting cloth.
Outline first, then fill
Work with the grid of your cloth, not against it. Outline the section you’re tufting first. Then fill it in with vertical or horizontal rows. This means a lot of short bursts. That’s fine. That’s how it’s supposed to work. Your lines stay clean and your fabric stays intact. For multicolor designs this matters even more. Short, controlled rows give you way more precision than trying to follow a complex shape in one continuous pass.
Fixing mistakes
When you’ve worked with the grid, pulling yarn out is easy. The fabric recovers and holds its structure. When you’ve been going diagonally or in curves, removing yarn is more likely to leave damage or weaken the cloth. Stick with the grid wherever you can.
