I’ve just woven a chenille scarf and I’m having problems getting the fringe to stay twisted. What do you find to be the best way to finish a chenille item?
I finish my chenille scarves, shawls, etc. by hemstitching on the loom in bundles of four (two wasn’t heavy enough and 6 looked too big). After the cloth is cut from the loom I take two of the bundles of four and tie a knot at the very end of the fringe, pulling on it to make sure it’s tight. I do this all the way across making sure that the knots are evenly matched in length on the fringe. I wash the scarf by hand in the sink and spin it out gently in the washing machine or wrap it in a towel to get rid of the excess moisture. Hang to dry. While it’s still damp, hold the cloth firmly with your left hand and with your right hand, pull down on one knot and twist the fringe to the left. It will want to go in that direction. Let it dry. After they have dried I cut the little tuft off back to the knot. I put them into a hot dryer for just 1 minute to soften them up. I don’t like them to be in there any longer. Remember this….whatever you take out of the lint trap has been stripped off your fabric. Chenille is a woven yarn with exposed wefts that make it fringey….the dryer likes to suck that stuff off and if you leave it in the dryer too long you will be basically throwing your yarn away. See the series of photos below that will “walk” you through my process.
Can you see the knot tied at the end?
This is a wet scarf…I take the knot and pull and then put a twist in it
This is what 3 wet twisted fringes look like. It is like twisting your hair, but you don’t put a bobby pin in it :^)
These are my version of fringes on 2 scarves that are at least 7 years old (maybe older). They are secure and stable but look soft and drapey just like the scarves.
