This Looked Way Easier Online… Here’s What Happened | Clawlab H1 Rug Tufting Kit Review

Okay, I'm gonna try tug rafting. Tug rafting. Okay, I'm gonna try rug tufting today. So, Clawlab sent me a Full kit, not just the gun, it comes with the gun, it comes with a frame, fabric you need, yarn to try out, so it comes with the whole thing to get started, and I'm hoping this is going to be a really cool hobby to get rid of all of my scrap yarn, because I've been watching tons of tutorials on YouTube on how to do this so that I can hopefully not make a fool of myself, I got other items as well. So it seems once you make the rug, you have other stuff you need to do. So one of the things is gluing the rug. So I see everybody using Roberts. There's a lot of different numbers. I picked this one because it was the cheapest on Amazon. We'll see how well it works. Okay, I also got a trimmer because everybody shaves their rugs afterwards. So I got this one that has a guide because everyone seemed very nervous about... trimming their rug too short so I will be using that. I got a very cute little glue gun that I will be using for edging which you'll see what that means. I also got a projector because I'm really bad at drawing so I'm going to use this to put the design on my cloth. I am using some of my I'm using my scrap yarn for the project that I have in mind and I am using my Temu purchase, I'll link to that video, but one of my Temu purchases, I see everybody kind of using guides for the yarn, so I'm going to try this thing out and see if it helps keep the yarn flowing and all that good stuff. So, I think I'm ready. I think I have everything I need. I'm going to clear this off, and I'm ready. I've been waiting to start tufting, so I am now finally here. Let's clear this off and get going. For our first step we have to roll this onto this rod and it's got velcro so we have to put it on so that we can install it in the machine or the frame, not really a machine. So we're gonna tap it onto our velcro and I should probably flip it around. I feel like everybody had it wound way tighter. But I don't think it really matters how tight it is on here because it just needs to be tight on the bracket. So I think we're okay. So it's supposed to snap in here. So there are gaps in these rods for the fabric to go through. So we're going to feed it through the fabric first. Now, I'm hoping to get two projects out of this, so I'm going to be really stingy, but it says to go seven centimeters past the bottom bar. I'm going to do the very bare minimum so that I can hopefully have enough for another project. Okay, so now we're supposed to rotate the bottom bar counterclockwise one full turn. There's little buttons to lock it. Okay, that looks good. Now we need to do the sides so this little piece kind of pops open. So we put the fabric over and close it on both sides. Okay and then the last step is to turn this bar clockwise so that you get it as tight as possible. You're supposed to be able to do the flick test. So let's see. I think I'm good. We'll find out when I start Time to put the design on it. I'm going to test out the yarn but I'm going to put my design up first so that way I don't accidentally test over the design that I want to do. So I'm going to get the projector out and do that now. Okay I had to turn off my lights so that I can see the picture better. I'm kind of offsetting it so I can mess around on this side so hopefully this will all go So let me tell you my inspiration for this design. While I draw it, I came across this gorgeous rug on Amazon and I absolutely loved it. I'll link it just in case you want to see it better or love it too. I wanted to make a smaller scaled down version and I figured the center shapes would be easy to do. So to help me figure it out, I put the design into ChatGVT and asked it to make a three color version for me and this is the layout it gave me. So for the colors, I'm using some variegated yarn from Red Heart Unforgettable, and that's for the darker sections. For the light sections, I'm combining that same yarn with Red Heart Supersaver, which is what I'm using on just the white areas. And the Supersaver seems to be a really popular yarn for tufting, so I'm hoping that works well. I have no idea how this is going to turn out yet, But I'm really hoping it looks good. You know, sometimes the best part of the process is just seeing how the inspiration transforms into something new. Okay, I'm ready to start messing with this side. Thank The gun itself seems very straightforward. you so It's not as intimidating as those ones that have, like, the two handles and everything's open. much for Like, I was afraid my hair would get caught. I think I'm good. It's just USB-C to USB-C. joining It's got a little dial on the back to turn it on or to set the speed, us today. and then the button for powers on the bottom. So we need to thread this. I'm practicing with the yarn mace set, so if you are a knitter or crocheter watching this, This looks about a bulky size yarn. So when I do my actual project, because I've seen a lot of people do it, they've doubled up like worsted. So Red Heart Super Saver, you would double it up so you could get the same kind of thickness. And then it also makes the project more dense. So I'm going to pick, because I don't really ever use pink, so I'm going to practice with pink. So I'm going to turn this on. And squeeze the trigger and see how fast we're set right now. So we've got green for go. There's a button that says mode. I don't know what that does. Like it doesn't explain it in the... You can push it, but I don't know what happens. Um, Oh, there's blue. I think green is like the level. So if it's all the way, that's like all the way turned up. And they said about one fifth. So I'm like a little bit of green and a lot of blue. I think that's right. That's right. So I'm going to try it here. Just... See what happens? See if it's loud and stuff? Okay, that's pretty slow. So that's probably what I need right now. So you saw, as you push it, it cuts it, and that's how you make kind of the design. It's going to show on the other side, but I'm going to videotape on the other side too so you can see the magic happening. Okay, so let's just do a line. Some of the tutorials said go slow and kind of don't just try to do one continuous, like kind of do little spurts. Little spurts. So we're going to see how we do. We're just going to do a straight line to start with. You're supposed to push hard, straight in, not like this, not like that. So I may have to stand, bend over, whatever to get that. That was pretty easy. See, you can pull that out. You don't need that. I'm going to have lots of little scraps everywhere I'm sure by the time I'm done. I'm going to go a little faster. No end, not that much green, whatever that means. I kind of want to do a curve the way these curve to make sure I can do that. So these are like super horizontal. I want to see if it goes horizontal. Oh yeah, that works. That's going to make a world of difference. It's kind of satisfying pulling these little pieces out. It's trying to make a shape. I'm going to make a heart because it's going to kind of have a little bit going that way. So I'm just going to work off of that and make a heart. I wanna go wide. I'm gonna just kind of make it bigger now. This thing is so fun. I can't even tell you. Oh, I love it. Another thing that they said, or the tutorials, is hurting my back. Is get them really close together. Pack it in. Some people are kind of like doing big wide because on the other side, it's still, it's kind of full, but you really gotta pack it in to make it look good. So let's pack it in. Sometimes this thing is like smooth as butter and other times it wants to be like do do do do and I don't know why. I was wondering like if you go over the same kind of spot like what happens? Like will it just make a big hole or does it let you? So I'm gonna just go straight across and see what happens. It might work. So I think I have the hang of it. The other side looks great. This side not as much. I think I'm ready to start my project. Okay, I've got my setup. I've got my yarn ready. I have it in a little holder on the floor. I'm hoping it'll be easier. We'll see. Thankfully, Claw Lab gives you lots of these threaders because I yeeted one off of my table and I don't know where it went. I'm going to start with a double of the variegated and I'm going to do the dark areas. So my thought was for the light I'm going to do one of this and one of the cream to give it a little dimension. So we'll see how that goes and then we'll do just white in the white area. So wish me luck. So far so good I think. And I lost my yarn. Okay, definitely gonna have to help feed this through. Okay, I'm backwards, I think, because my rod was falling off when I was going the other way. Remember the slack. It's kind of getting turned on itself. I think that's the reason. I just have to remember to stop and get slack. Stop, get slack. I'm pushing hard enough. This thing is causing more problems than it's worth. Maybe if I do center pull, it will work better. I'm gonna try that. See how center pull... So it's like a nose I got stuck because it's just blue. So that mode button is kind of like the reset button. Push it and you're ready to go again. Almost done with the first spot. Okay, I think I'm good with that one. I'm moving on. That line is not great. I think I need to get more in front of it. I'm not seeing exactly what I'm doing here. Here we go. Okay, the second one, way better than the first. So I'm going to keep going. Then when I switch colors, we'll see if I run out of yarn. Then when I switch colors, I'll come back and show you how it's going because I think I've figured this out now. More light spots. I think I have enough of the color. I'm about to run out of my first cake of the white. I'm probably gonna have to cake more white to do the white. I figured out what I can do with these. They can be stuffing for amigurumi, so don't throw out your scraps. Put them in a bag. I'm officially out of my color yarn. So I had plenty to do it all. I filled in some spots. Hopefully it looks okay. So on to the white. Since this is all one color I think I can go in just any direction I really want to. But I'm trying to be very mindful of the edges so I'm paying extra attention to that. But kind of messing around with this I realized I can go over stuff. Again and again and it hasn't messed it up yet, so that's good to know. The back side looks wackadoodle, the front's looking pretty good, so I'm happy with how it's turning out. I'm starting out. Okay, I think I'm getting better at the lines. Me sitting down, I'm tilting it. I think that's why I'm getting better and better. So I am walking with it, standing with it, and then noticing there's like almost like a sewing machine guide. But the needle is a little bit, you know, thinner than that so you can't totally go off of these. So focus on your ring. That is kind of like right where it's going. So use your ring to guide you. So then I'm going to get in between these here. I'm right at it. I'm 90 degrees. And I'm looking at that ring to lead me. And I've been having less da-dum-da-dums. And it's been cleaner lines. Like, I literally just figured this out right now, so that's why the rest of it's not very clean. So, this very end might be pretty and the rest is meh, but that's kind of the thing that I'm realizing. Like, all of these lines that I've just done are much cleaner because I am just walking with it, which will get good stretching. Thank you for watching. But focus on your regulator hole, and that kind of helps guide you the best. And sometimes this thing like wants to stop halfway or how I pull the trigger off. So you just have to and it doesn't want to go in if you do that so you have to press the trigger to be able to get back in. Three spots left! I'm having fun with this so I like don't want to stop. I just want to keep on like. So a lot of people that do the two-handed guns and then try this they're always like He's like, what do I do with my extra hands? I know exactly what you do with your extra hand. You get slack for your yarn so it doesn't get stuck or you don't get de-threaded. I'm doing much better about not being de-threaded and I'm on my last little bit. So I'm gonna glue this thing. This stuff says, like, lots of ventilation. It's a pretty big room, but I may need to take this outside. But I'm gonna give it a go inside. They said this stuff is super sticky and gets everywhere, so I need to lay down some stuff to protect my floor. Um, cause I'm a messy person. I just, I'm impatient. I've slapped this stuff on, I'm sure is what I'm going to do, but I need to tack this stuff on really good and let it sit for a while so that it will dry very well before I even start touching the front of it. So that's my next step is some glue. So let's go try. Putting my hair back for this one. So this stuff has the consistency of like, uh, runny peanut butter is what I'll call it. The smell is not that bad though. Let me use the lid first because there's quite a bit on there. Yeah it's not as thick as peanut butter but it's got a little bit of consistency like that. So I have the blanket under me and I'm just gonna go crazy with this stuff. It's spreading very easily. I wasn't sure like when you see the line like it looks like it's really hard to spread for some reason. Maybe I got a different my number. Makes it easier. Mine is I think 3095. I'll link it so that way if you want to use this one. So it's supposed to take like 24 to 48 hours to cure, harden, whatever. So I'll probably go the full 48 because I am going to put like a really thick layer since I have so many pieces of yarn on the back side from all my tarantarans and I'm wearing gloves which was a good idea because I'm Cause I'm already hitting myself when I'm Ouija-ing this on. This is very satisfying too though. Spreading this because it's like you don't have to really worry about what it looks like because it's the back side but it's like nice and satisfying. Best way I can put it. And there's a lot of this stuff so I'm going to be trying to use To do the... um non-stick surface. I'm gonna try using this. Everyone else uses kind of like spray adhesive maybe because it dries faster. I don't care if it dries fast as long as I don't have to spend more money because I'm cheap. So if I have a gallon of this and I only use a couple inches of that gallon I'm saving money and I'm gonna like use this for that as well. So I'll let you And you'll see if it works or not. So everybody kind of gets it out. side of the pattern or your your design like by a good inch or so so I'm going to do that too I guess just to kind of seal those edges in. I'm trying to be thoughtful with how much I'm getting out of the pail because I know I could just glop it on and then I'm going to regret it because it's gonna fall and get everywhere. Should I glue my heart? I think I'm gonna glue my heart too, you know? That was my very first thing I made. I'm gonna make, I'm gonna keep my heart because I think it's cute too and it's really satisfying spreading this glue. See? My fingers helped me in that instance. Oh this stuff's very sticky because like I had a little bit on my finger right here and it was like wanting to stick to the plastic. I'm kind of putting it thick like where it's sticking out. It's probably a bad idea. It's probably gonna take forever to dry but I really don't want this to come undone. I did not read the directions on this at all beforehand. That could bite me. I think I'm good. I think I've slathered this enough that it should be nice and strong hold. The smell is not that bad actually so I think if you have a big enough room you should be fine. If you're like in a closet it's probably going to be bad. Kind of smells like, I don't know, it smells like stuff. I did not use much of it. Let me take you off here so you can see. So there's still that much left. So I'm definitely going to be using that for the backing too and hope it works because that's a lot of stuff. It has a shelf life of two years is what the package says, but I don't want to be wasting. Muddy and this stuff, so I'm gonna see if it will work for my backing. So now we're just gonna let this dry for eons, and then we'll come back and cut it off and do the rest. So I've been waiting a whole week for this to dry, and it's still tacky. So I googled it because I couldn't figure out why it was still tacky, it should have dried by now, and I guess the kind of adhesive I got remains tacky? So, that might help me with my backing, so I'm going to cut this out and then do the little edging that I've seen with my hot glue gun, and then we'll put the backing on and see if that helps. And then I'm going to start trimming it, which I'm really nervous about, but let's get this off of the frame now. One tip, have a vacuum nearby. See, it wants to stick to itself. Have a vacuum nearby because this stuff gets every year. So I'm going to cut this out and then we'll do the little gluey thing and keep going. And just in case you're wondering, I do not have enough for a second project. I kind of, the bottom of my first one is really long so I could either make a smaller frame and use this or get more fabric for another project. So just in case you're wondering. So now I am cutting slits around the rug so that I can fold over these edges. That's one of the steps I've seen online. And then once I do that, I'm going to fold over those edges. And because the rug is so sticky from the glue not ever drying, it was easy to not have to use my glue gun to get these edges down. I did use a little bit in the corners. And then now I have my rug backing and non-slips. surface um and it's sticking right to that tacky piece so like i'm not having to put any extra glue on yet. we'll see how that goes. so i'm trimming up my edges so that we can begin the next step. i've got my shearer. i'm going to try it on my part first so that way if I have it set up wrong I'll mess this up and not the actual rug but I also need to go in with scissors first and separate the lines. I see people do it on the tutorial so I'm going to do that as well so I'm going to give that a go and then we'll start carving so let's see how it goes. Okay here we go I'm going to put my hair back so it doesn't get chopped off accidentally. I think I have it set up a little bit too high. I was like afraid I was gonna take too much off. So I put it pretty high up there. So I'm going to move it down a little bit because this guide already gives you kind of like a good little one eighth maybe of a room. So I'm putting it to where it's right in line with it. See how it goes. Now we're getting somewhere. So I don't know what to do with the edges. I don't know if I should use that or just scissors. Let me try scissors first because I kind of don't know let's try scissors first. I could sit here and like keep trimming all day but I want to get working on this one. I'm going to vacuum this up real quick and then move on but I think that she is very cute and I'm very happy with my first little finished object. So let's try to actually carve this one though. We're gonna try to make it 3D-ish and see how it goes. Okay I'm ready to start trimming the lines, which I've seen them do on tutorials, which kind of helps you carve it. So get good yarn scissors for this part. Now I'm going to try first like there's long pieces getting stuck in this. I think I'm going to shave it down once first and then trim it. We'll see if that works better. Trial and error right now. Right now. I really wanna go in on this edge right here, but I'm afraid I'm gonna vacuum up some, but I think this is looking like a million times better than it was, so I'm excited. I'm very excited. Let's clean up a little bit. I think my vacuum's a little too powerful because I think it's pulling on some of these strings, so I probably won't do that again. I'll probably use like a brush or something, but I think it's short enough now or even enough-ish that I can do the lines and then I'll try carving. So let's keep going. I don't know if this is actually doing anything, but I'm going to keep going and hope it will accomplish something. I'm not going to lie, I skipped some of the sections. It's so tedious and I don't know if it's doing anything. I can't tell if it's helping or whatever. I think it's for to help your tracks when you're doing the 3D cutting. So I'm going to see if the areas that I didn't cut, like this whole area. If it's still going to, if it's going to be a problem when I'm cutting or if it works fine, then that's just a pointless step. So I'm going to detach this thing and then I'm going to start actually carving. This is where it could all go very wrong. Okay, moment of truth. I'm very nervous. Let's see. So you're supposed to hold it at a 45 degree angle. I'm like going 90 right now. I'm going to try to get more on the 45. You're supposed to go on both sides, so now I gotta do the white as well. It's working! Okay, the cutting is pointless for me. I use this at a 90 degree angle first to kind of separate the two spaces, and then I do the 45. So the cutting was just tedious and I didn't like it. The 90 degree, I don't know if you're supposed to, but that works easier for me, so that's what I'm gonna keep doing. Tufting experts, let me know, or let the people know in the comments how wrong I am on all of this stuff, please. So I didn't get one of those rug combs with my kit, but I have cat hair brushes, so I'm gonna see if that kind of helps with the combing of all of the little fibers that are everywhere. We'll see if this works. You may notice me going just on one side right now. I'm doing that on purpose because I kept flipping it back and forth. So I'm doing all one side first and then I'm gonna flip it into the other side and then go in and fine tune everything. I'm done, I'm gonna flip it around and do the other side. And then I'll probably still do more because I feel like I can get it to pop more, but. I'm thoroughly, I really like the shaving part. It's very relaxing and satisfying seeing like the yarn come off of it. The problem is the yarn goes everywhere. So be sure you're in a spot where you can clean easily because it will be everywhere. I'm also gonna use this for the edges. I'm gonna do like a 45 on the edge and see how that works out. So I'm gonna start on the next side and keep going. So I've decided I'm not going to show you any more of me carving because I want you to see the reveal when it's done. So I'm going to keep going with this and you will see me in a little bit with the finished piece. So before I show you the reveal after my cutting just a couple of notes that I want to throw out there. The tufting itself was super fun. I loved it so much. I think it's such a cool way to use up my leftover yarn. The yarn will get everywhere though so be sure that you are doing it in a spot You can clean up easily small children pets can't really get into that area while you're working because it's it can just become even a bigger mess so have that in mind when you start and if you're on carpet make sure you have a vacuum even um just doing like a handheld vac when I was Picking up all the little loose bits like on the table and on the rug, when I actually ran my vacuum over my carpet where you couldn't see any fuzz, my canister was probably half full of fuzz. I went through like two and a half canisters of my upright vacuum of dumping pieces of yarn. That's how much I was sucking up from the project. So without further ado let me show you the finished project. Um, I am pretty, like, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but let me talk about the backing real quick. Um, you know, I was going to use the same carpet adhesive because I'm cheap and I didn't want to buy the spray adhesive, but because it was so tacky, it's been holding, like it's not falling off around the edges where there's no glue because I folded over the edges of the actual fabric. It's not sticking. I could probably either do some hot glue with that or some more carpet adhesive, but right now it's fine. It's working perfectly fine. It's actually by my window. My kitten sleeps on it, so she's loving it. But I know you want to see the actual finished project, so let me show you how I did with my cutting. I'm pretty happy with it. Let me get kind of the whole thing in the screen. So I'll do a close-up of this so you can see all of the 3D detail a little bit better since it may not come out as well with me holding it up but it was super satisfying to do the trimming. I felt that me doing the 90 degree angle was way easier than using the scissors so for me and my laziness that worked perfectly fine. Fine. Um. I the 45 like I felt like I went over it quite a few times so my suggestion from my point of view is go deep like don't be afraid to really cut in the lines between the colors. I feel like it gave it more dimension and made it look better. So me not being a tufting expert my point being is that This was Super attainable super easy to do it. I think it looks great. My kitten loves it. Here's a picture of her Her. Um. It is One of those things that I think anybody that tries it will be successful, like I don't think anyone's going to try it and just totally like blow it. It's so easy to use, especially with the Claw Lab kit that I received. The frame was super simple to put together and set up. The gun is not intimidating at all. Unlike all of the other tufting guns that I've seen, it was super easy to like get going and use and it doesn't, you know, jam. I've seen some videos where the bigger ones jam constantly and you have to set settings and all that kind of stuff. The Claw Lab one was like plug and go kind of thing. So overall... I really enjoyed this. I think it's a great use of getting rid of extra yarn if you're one of those people like me that have random bits everywhere or if you just want to like get into it. It's awesome for doing stuff in the house like I want to make more rugs. I want to make like wall hangings like I want to do a bunch of stuff so I think that it was super fun. I think everybody should try it. I will link again to the Claw Lab, link below. Make sure you use the promo code on the screen right now or down below for some extra discount. Okay. So, I'm going to go ahead and start the countdown. If you've tried rug tufting, let us know in the comments, And especially like your very first time, did you think it was like super fun, intimidating, difficult? Is there pointers? Definitely, if you've tufted before, anything that I'm saying that you're like, uh-uh, don't listen to her, this is what you should do, put that in the comments so that people know what exactly to do. I think that will be helpful for everyone. But I am Deja with Knit and Crochet Ever After and thank you for watching.