An interesting photo sent to me today – take a look:
Fringe tape used to hold the fringe in place.
Yep – it’s tape. Tape used to hold the fringe tassels in place so you don’t have to keep straightening them.
Pros and cons of this. One – it does keep the fringe tassels, especially hefty fringe like on this Karastan rug, in place.
Cons – you can’t reuse the tape, it leaves residue (and a clean spot) where the adhesive was, and if the fringe tassels are weak with age or past bleaching, the tape will easily tear away those tassels.
On a machine woven rug like this one (you can see the machine work on the edges, and that this fringe is clearly added on after the fact) – torn away tassels are not a big deal. In fact, on this rug you can pull off the fringe entirely with your hands (no scissors required).
But on a hand woven rug – torn away tassels will lead to the rug unraveling and losing its value. This will need to be repaired quickly when this happens. Read about getting rug ends repaired right on this prior post.
So, if you HATE your fringe – do NOT cut the tassels off of an oriental rug. Just say no.
But, no worries, because you can hide the fringe.
The poor-boy route is to simply use masking tape and tape the tassels under the rug. I choose masking tape because it has the least amount of adhesive, so you do not create a huge mess to clean up versus using packing tape or duct tape.
It’s not the ideal choice, but it’s an option that is much better than cutting off the tassels.
The other option is to hide the fringe professionally, with something that does not damage the tassels with adhesive, and keeps them clean in case you decide you suddenly LOVE fringe again.
We use at our rug shop a burlap material to do this. We sew it by hand at the base of the rug, and fold the tassels underneath the rug safely. Take a look on this Tibetan woven rug:
Customer wants the white fringe hidden from view.
Ready to fold the tassels under the rug, and sew to secure.
Abracadabra! The fringe has VANISHED!
Rug friends don’t let friends cut their rug fringe off… ever. Spread the word!
- Lisa
wow thanks for the great information – i was on the verge of cutting off the fringe of a hand made rug i brought all the way back from russia!
Just to be sure I understand…you’re sewing the burlap to the fringe inbetween the tassels and the rug, and then tucking it under, and sewing the other edge to the rug?
Does this make the ends of the rug stand up higher thant the rest because of the fringe/burlap underneath?
Where do you get the burlap?
Do you use a particular type of stitch to attack the burlap?
thanks lisa-another great idea
Joseph – thanks for posting your question. We are sewing the burlap to the base of the fringe from the front side, and then folding it under and basting it to the back. This cannot be done to fringe that has big knots – only small knots or no knots at all. We use burlap carpet binding that we get at our local yardage shop, just because it’s sturdy and does not unravel easily when cut. It does hold flat under the rug, and if the rug has any weight to it, it’s smooth, no lumps. You of course have to adjust as needed. Using a simple whip stitch is good enough. Not a lot of stitching is needed if you are using an upholstery thread that is not going to break. Some shops use a cotton material instead – whatever works for you.
As I mentioned, the “free” way to get a similar result (but a little messier when you “un-do” it) is the masking tape and just tucking the fringe under the rug that way too.
Hope that helps! Happy New Year!
Lisa