. . . combing fringe.
A mess
Patience . . .
Transformed
A Fine Day For . . .
Love Those "Hands at Home"
Celebrating the Human Touch
. . . combing fringe.
A mess
Patience . . .
Transformed
Love Those "Hands at Home" 
I have this very same project on my list for this week. You make it look easier than I feared.
Use a plastic comb on dry fabric. Go slow. Start at the bottom and work up. Pretend it’s the tangled hair of a small child you care about. 😉
I can so see how soothing and rewarding this is. I feel the same when I knit, cross stitch, polish copper and silver…it is seemingly monotonous but the mind comes to ease, it brings pleasant thoughts of all kind , calmness and then…when finely done, the reward is beauty!
Great psot, xo Johanna
I think it’s very similar to polishing metal–uncovering, or recovering, the beauty makes the job seem well worth it!
Oh, I can see that I’m going to need patience. A near-in-the-future post from me is going to feature some old family tablelinens, underskirts, cut-work, lace and crocheted doilies, a christening gown, etc., all in need of the kind of attention I may find hard to deliver. I saw them and thought of you……..
Oh, what an exciting project! I can’t wait to hear more!
Wow, I can’t believe the difference! Thanks for the tips on how-to. It looks beautiful. I bet you just can’t wait to use it again. 🙂
Well, using these napkins could mean having to wash them again and then that means re-combing the fringe. So, I might just admire them for the time being!
Haha! I totally understand 🙂
Oh my! What a difference. Now is this something that will have to be done every time you launder these?
Basically, yes. The napkins wouldn’t have been meant to be used for, say, spaghetti and red sauce but, rather for a fussy luncheon or tea, I think. So they wouldn’t necessarily need to be washed often. And there are techniques to wash and keep the fringe pretty much untangled. You know how, when you go swimming, you can tilt your head back in the water to get your hair smooth and untangled? By hand washing carefully and pulling the napkins out of the water along the side of the sink, you can get the fringe to stay smooth and flat, too. The “before” shot I showed here was the result of a much rougher treatment than that–they came to me that way.
Hmm, there seems to be a fringe element taking over your blog. First the towels, now these napkins.
The fringe element always causes trouble, don’t you agree?
A good thing to do whilst watching the news.
I might get a little too frustrated and worked up watching the news, and take it out on the fringe!
Wow! What a difference! 🙂
Sometimes a few pictures say it all!
Wow. But I have to say this may be why the fringed towels didn’t win…;-)
I can’t even tell you how many fringed towels I’ve seen with tattered fringe because someone threw them in the washer! They are definitely high maintenance!
I’m amazed that the fringe combs out on dry fabric like that…I would think it would just spring back into the tangled mess that it was. You must get a wonderful sense of satisfaction in transforming this vintage linen…giving it a chance to be appreciated and used again.
I stand at the ironing board when I do this and a little spritz of water and a quick swipe of the iron on the fringe, once it’s untangled, gets it all smooth and pretty again. It is a big feeling of accomplishment, once it’s done–much like polishing silver, I think!
I’ve never heard of fringe combing, but it looks beautiful after the make over 🙂
I think these fringed items, like napkins and towels, were used by very wealthy people, mostly to show off their taste and the fact that they could afford someone to care for the items. Napkins like these would be nice to use at a special occasion, like a wedding, but they aren’t really practical in most of our regular lives!
I did not know you could do this! I once had some fringed napkins in a state similar to the first photo – I used them as cleaning rags………[Hangs head in shame and creeps away………]
Oh, Pauline . . . tut tut. Actually, I can totally understand that–I was lucky that these napkins were salvageable. Sometimes the fringe is so knotted there’s really not much to be done. I guess you could cut the fringe off and hem the edges.
Nice work! You’re right…it looks like it took a lot of patience!
I have to be in just the right mood to do it!
From the ugly duckling to a lovely swan!!!
When they’re good, they’re very, very good!
now I know why, as a weaver, I never leave a fringe on pieces that are used regularly and need washing, too time consuming – I’d rather be weaving or spinning or dyeing!
I would never leave fringe on towels or napkins or anything I weave, knowing what I know about washing it!
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