list of topics |  forum top |  home page |  polls |  posting hints |  contact admin
how to tie dye|  hand dyeing FAQs|  dyeing Q&A blog|  mailing lists and forums|  about this site
Home » forums » Miscellaneous

reconditioning frazzled fringe

I've been dyeing a number of silk & rayon scarves from Dharma Trading with Procion MX and Alter Ego dyes. They look great, except... the fringe. It's fluffy and frayed and kind of sick looking. It doesn't seem to matter whether I air dry or "air fluff" in the dryer, and it doesn't matter whether I hand wash or "super delicate" in the washing machine -- I get the same result. Even a rinse in Milsoft doesn't seem to work.

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to recondition my fringe? I'm embarrassed to try to sell these scraggly monsters.

By tigerb at 2007-03-05 10:43 | Miscellaneous | login or register to post comments | previous forum topic | next forum topic

Sickly Fringe

The best way to prevent tangling and major fraying is to wash inside a mesh laundry bag if you insist on machine washing. After the article is spun dry or sponged dry if you're doing it by hand, grab it by the edge where the fringe meets the scarf and give it a good shake. This force alone will untangle a lot of the mess; you'll be amazed! My next step is to iron dry the damp body of the scarf, then hang it. Now comes the secret weapon ... a simple hair brush with wide spaced teeth, such as one used for blow drying. While the scarf is hanging and the fringe still damp, brush out your fringe as though you were brushing long hair, beginning at the bottom and working your way up. It's good to hold on to the top of the fringe in one hand as you work your way up so you don't put stress on the fabric --just like long hair. You'd be amazed at how effective this method is. My experience is that your fringe will dry out bone straight as long as you brush through it while still damp.

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

You'll hate having to go through the brushing process, but you'll love the results. Try it out on a single piece before you rewet the whole lot; it's a learning experience so best to attempt it on a practice item.

It wouldn't even occur to me to put anything with fringe in a dryer and expect it to come out "as new". Forgive the belly picture; I just wanted to show the resulting fringe from a Dharma shawl.

Happy hands are dyed hands,
Darlene

By Shibori Borealis at Mon, 2007-03-05 12:03 | login or register to post comments

my results using a brush on fringe

Well, it worked pretty well. It certainly helped get the tangles out. But the fringe was still rather frayed and fluffy. On a whim, I steam-ironed it. It's still frayed, but now it's flat and glossy! Not perfect, but much, much better than before.

Now if only I could keep the fringe from tangling DURING the dye process... because I know that it comes out of the pot pre-tangled, darn it.

Thanks again,

Tracy

http://www.vashtisilks.com/blogger.html

By tigerb at Thu, 2007-03-15 12:53 | login or register to post comments

Tangled fringe

I, too, have had struggles with the fringe on the Dharma scarves. I don't know what I was thinking, but I washed my first batch in the washing machine! When I got them out, they were horribly tangled! I tried to de-tangle them by hand, then gave up and let them dry. I finally ended up taking one scarf at a time, and freeing each piece of fringe very gently. That did the job, but they did look pretty beat up and it took a very long time. I dyed the scarves, and hand washed them after. Dharma recommends a final rinse with Milsoft, a professional textile softener, and that made a big difference in restoring the softness of the fringe. After the Milsoft rinse, I gently squeezed out the excess moisture, detangled the fringe very carefully while still damp, then hung dry.

Judy

Judy Sall Originals
http://www.tiedyejudy.com
"Life without tie-dye is waaaaaaaaaaaay dull!"

By tiedyejudy at Fri, 2007-03-16 07:50 | login or register to post comments

a brush it is

I will try this immediately! Thanks very much for the suggestion.

That's a great mannequin. I sure wish I had something like that to photography my bellydance veils on. I find it difficult to show what they would look like with someone holding them.

Tracy

By tigerb at Mon, 2007-03-05 15:32 | login or register to post comments

thought on fringe

Well, if aftertreatment is pain, why not try some pre- treatment?
What about to use some sort of clip or sew the ends together before dyeing?

By Jaja at Fri, 2007-03-16 07:51 | login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

advertisements

Powered by Webmasters.com