Abstract: A tufting machine has two slidable needle bars in back-to-back relationship, each needle bar being reciprocated toward and away from a backing material in unison. Each needle bar carries a plurality of transversely spaced apart needles mounted in needle modules, the needles in one bar being staggered relative to those in the other bar. The needles in both needle bars may cooperate with identical hooks positioned on the opposite side of the backing material. Each needle bar is slidable transversely independently of the other needle bar. The gauge between needles in each needle bar is twice the gauge between the hooks and the hooks have a common throat length so that each hook may cooperate with a needle in either needle bar. Thus each needle bar may be shifted transversely by a distance equal to the pitch between needles of the composite needle bar assembly rather than the larger pitch between needles in the same needle bar as in the prior art.