Tufting Gun: Cut Pile vs Loop Pile

January 23, 2022

Tools

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Which Rug Tufting Gun Should I Get?

Cut-Pile vs Loop Pile?

If you are considering starting a new hobby tufting can be quite an interesting choice. But what is tufting? Tufting is simply a method for textile weaving, different than the traditional carpet-making process it involves a new modern tool called Tufting Gun.

There are multiple various types of Tufting Guns however all of them are operated manually. It works on a special type of fabric known as Tufting Cloth that is stretched to the frame, with its needle it moves upright on this cloth and creates patterns with yarn.

Essentially, Cut-pile and Loop-pile Tufting Gun operates almost in the same way. The only difference between the two tufting guns is in the case of the Cut-pile Tufting gun cuts the yarn thread after each movement through the openings of the tufting cloth with the help of its built-in scissors. But on the other hand, the Loop-pile Tufting Gun does not have built-in scissor equipment because it creates a pattern with a continuous piece of yarn on the tufting cloth. You need to cut the yarn manually after each completed line.

Check the difference between cut-pile and loop-pile tufting guns and decide which one is a better option for you.

You can see which Tufting Gun is preferred by the Tufting Community with the poll down below. The poll was created in the Reddit Tufting Community.

Cut-Pile Tufting Gun

Cut-Pile Tufting Gun is definitely the most popular option in the market, it is also known as AK-I Tufting Gun. It is a favored choice for most beginner tufters. The first reason why it is more popular than its competitors is related to ease of use.

Under the right circumstances, it is easy to operate since it cuts the yarn after each movement it is less likely to make mistakes like pulling the yarn out of the cloth, unlike the loop-pile tufting gun where you can easily remove a long strip of yarn in a matter of seconds.

The Cut-pile and Loop-pile Tufting Guns operate with the same type and thickness of yarn, if it fits through the thread of the gun it is mostly ready to tuft. It is recommended to use between 3 – 5mm thick yarn for both machines.

The only downside of the Cut-pile Tufting Gun we can mention is the amount of accumulated fiber particles in the working environment. Because of the difference in the operation modes of the two types of guns, the amount of created fiber particles is different. In the case of the Cut-Pile Gun, there are thousands of cuts in the yarn thread, and each cut action increases the load of these particles.

These Fiber Particles can reach your lungs from the air and may become problematic. If you are doing tufting in a closed environment you should consider using a dust mask. You can check Is tufting gun dangerous? You should be careful about these to learn more about this issue.

If you only have Cut-pile Tufting Gun but would like to add loop piles to your design there is an easy solution for that, Punch Needles. You can purchase a Punch Needle for less than 10$ and create loop piles. Basically, it works with the same logic as the tufting gun just it is way slower due to manual work. You can check How To Tuft Without Tufting Gun to learn the differences between them.

You can combine both styles and create more comprehensive designs. There is a 3rd type of tufting gun called AK-III it can work as both cut and loop pile. However, it is more complex to use and costly, for beginners it is not recommended.

Loop-Pile Tufting Gun

The second type of most popular tufting gun is Loop-Pile Tufting Gun. It is working similarly to the cut-pile but in my opinion, it is harder to use. The main reason for this is the fact that you actually have to cut the yarn manually after each line in your design. This means that you need to constantly hold extra scissors in one hand otherwise this small friction can cause a lot of waste of time and this would increase the total production time dramatically.

The Loop-pile gun known as AK-II creates the rug with continuous yarn strips and because of this reason, it is not really possible to use any kind of Rug Shaving Tools for carving and trimming the rugs. The trimming step is an important step to equalize the level of the yarns to the same height and create a smooth rug surface. It can also help with the maintenance of the rugs if you have a flattening problem after a certain amount of time, you can try to solve it by shaving it.

In the case of cut-pile rugs, you can easily carve them without any problem, and in addition to adjusting the surface level, it is a great tool to express your creativity. It is possible to use it to create three-dimensional patterns and movements on the rug’s surface.

The ability to use this 3D effect can be useful in the design process. A similar effect can be achieved by changing the loop length by adjusting the setting of your Loop-Pile Tufting Gun. You can check here to learn how to change it.

Final Thoughts

After considering both options with their different aspects, I definitely recommend Cut-Pile Tufting Gun for beginners. Because as we discussed it is easier to use and gain experience with it.

*_{Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.}