Name: Herb

Message: Do you know of a way to dye fringed silk devore scarves without tangling the fringe. HELP! Its taking a long time to untangle them.

Dyeing fringe—or rather, untangling the fringe after dyeing—is such a pain that I personally have sworn never to dye anything with fringe on it again.

One thing that helps is to buy small net lingerie bags, and put the scarves into them for all washing and rinsing. These bags are usually easy to find at a drug store. Gently hand-washing, instead of machine washing, is also a good idea. Hang the fringed scarves to dry; don't dry in the machine.

Using a high quality fabric softener can help some, too. Don't use the grocery store fabric softeners if you have any alternatives. The fabric softeners sold by dye retailers, such as Dharma Trading Company and by PRO Chemical and Dye, are much stronger and more effective and lack the allergenic perfumes. 

A lot of dyers use a wide-toothed comb or plastic brush to help untangle the fringe. This is a slow process and requires patience. Some people dip just the fringe into well-diluted hair conditioner before untangling. I've heard that Dharma Trading Company advises untangling the fringe while it is still in the water with the fabric softener or hair conditioner.

Here's a relevant discussion on the Dye Forum: "Reconditioning frazzled fringe".

If any of these tips work particularly well for you, please let me know!

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