Sonic Tufted Rug

I was in a mood to go out and try out new crafts in 2025, so I started the year off trying out rug tufting for the first time! I went to a craft studio offering it as an activity, so I got to dive straight into it without needing to acquire all the tools and material needed. I was in a huge Sonic The Hedgehog mood, so I picked him as my muse!

For the design itself, I was inspired by one of my favorite images on the web; This old photo edit of a Sonic plush surrounded by a bunch of Amy Rose(s)! (Fun fact: As you can tell from the watermark on the original photo, it was uploaded all the way back in 2001, credited to Amy Camacura, who has been running, (and hopefully still is when you read this!), an Amy Rose fansite named Amy World.)

I drew an outline based on the image and brought it to be traced on the canvas by the wonderful staff member that was handling the studio on that day. They taught me the basics and safety of handling a tufting tool and I was quickly out there making rows! It was a bit clunky to control the movement of the tufting tool, at first, but it got much easier as the tufting session went on.

When I was done with my rug for the day, I returned a few weeks later to pick up the rug, mostly finished! The studio's staff kindly glued on the backing of the rug as well as giving it an initial shave pass. I took it home and did an extra shaving pass, as well as sculpting the edges with scissors by hand to really shape every element.

My verdict: Tufting is really fun! Dizzy Sonic is hanging on my office wall now, and he's super cute. I had so much fun with it, I've been considering getting the tools and making a frame to do more tufting at home someday, if I can clear some workspace for it. It's a cool medium, and I'm always happy to pick up more craft hobbies!