PURPOSE: To surely and smoothly carry out yarn feed to a backing opener tube of a tufting machine for producing a patterned tufted woven fabric.

CONSTITUTION: This tufting machine is obtained by providing a yarn feed device with drive rollers 20 and 22, yarn feed rollers 24 and 26 moving into and out of engagement with the outer peripheral surfaces of the drive rollers 20 and 22, a means for guiding a yarn to a space between the peripheries of the feed rollers 24 and 26 and the outer peripheral surfaces of the drive rollers 20 and 22, a means for selectively moving the yarn feed rollers 24 and 26 into and out of engagement with the drive rollers 20 and 22 and feeding the yarn in a state of the drive rollers 20 and 22 engaged with the feed rollers 24 and 26 to a needle, and a yarn clamping means in the tufting machine comprising a means for feeding a backing 12, a needle for implanting the yarn into the backing 12 and the yarn feed device for producing a patterned tufted woven fabric.