A tufting machine with a needle bar and looper system provides individual loopers which cooperate with needles of the needle bar selectively between an engage and a disengage configuration whereby when in the engage configuration at least some of the loopers hold yarn directed by the needle through the backing as the needle cycles into and out of the backing to form a first loop having a height of a distance of the looper from the backing, but when in the disengage configuration, the looper is spaced from the yarn so that any loop formed is shorter than the first loop.