Tips and Tricks: Fringe Work

On a recent “Rug of the Month” post, Ania featured a rug with a fringe border. If you’ve never attempted fringe before, it can be intimidating. Ania pulled together a step by step guide on how to master the process, which you can read below:

In this image, the edge is folded backwards, allowing for half an inch of backing to show.

Step 1: Once you’ve pressed your finished rug, prepare your edge by zigzagging about 1.5 inches away from your hooking and cut the excess backing away. Then, fold over the backing about .5 an inch away from your last hooked row.  You can either fold it forward or backwards – if you fold it backwards you’ll need to use binding tape to cover the raw edge.

 

Step 2: You insert your hook through the layers of your folded backing, immediately adjacent to the last row that you hooked. With your hook, pull a loop of yarn through the backing, and do a single crotchet against the folded edge of your rug, leaving a tail of 6-9 inches in the back. You will hide this tail within the crocheted edge (it will lay flat). The yarn I chose to use in this instance is Paton’s Bamboo Silk Yarn (70% Viscose / 30% Silk). You can use 100% cotton yarn if you prefer (this is the yarn usually found on Oriental rugs).

 

 

Step 3: Single crotchet along the entire edge of the rug where you will attach the fringe. In the first image above, you’ll see what the edge should look like looking down at the flat rug. In the second image above, you’ll see what the chain stitch should look like. This is the part of the edge to which you will attach the fringe (as shown in step 5 below).

 

Step 4: Wrap your yarn around a 3 inch X 5 inch index card. With scissors, cut the wrapped yarn along one edge of the index card to create a series of strands of yarn. Using the index card to measure out the yarn helps create a uniform looking fringe.

Step 5: Fold three strands of yarn in half. Take your hook and enter from the back of the rug towards the front. Pull the loop end of the strands through the yarn that you have previously crocheted.

 

Step 6: Take the cut ends of the strands, and pull them through the loop that resulted in step 5, and tighten as shown above. Continue in this manner along the entire edge of the rug, and then repeat on the opposite edge of the rug.

Let Ania know in the comments below if you have any questions about any of the steps or techniques shown above!