If you have area rugs, you know how nice they look on your floors – unless they are in poor condition. When your rugs get damaged, you need to know how to fix them. One relatively simple rug problem is discolored cotton fringe. If your rug fringe has frayed or turned yellow, you don’t need to throw it away. You can give your rug a new life by replacing the rug fringe.
To understand how to fix your rug, you have to know a little bit about it. On a traditional antique rug, the fringes are the warps of the rug tied together to finish off the rug. Rug makers tie strands of wool or silk into knots by hand around these warps. The warps are as long as the rug itself, and the fringe is the way the rug maker secures the underpinnings of the rug itself. On this type of rug, you can’t simply cut off a damaged fringe because, if you do, the rug will be in danger of unraveling completely.
On a machine-made rug, the fringe is not a part of the rug’s foundation. It’s a decorative touch that’s added to finish off the rug because people have been accustomed to seeing fringe on a nice rug. This means the fringe is easily replaceable.
People like the look of rug fringes, but, unfortunately, fringes are the most fragile part of the rug. They show dirt faster. They get sucked up into the vacuum cleaner. Kids and pets paw at them. Unless you have a very light colored rug, the fringes are likely to look worse than the rest of the rug before long.
Complicating this is the fact that many rug fringes are bleached to give them a bright, ultra-white look. This is eye catching, but bleach and other whiteners chemically damage fringe, especially natural fibers like cotton fringe.
If you have damaged or discolored cotton fringe, don’t panic. There are some solutions. If the fringe is only dirty in one spot or another, you can try to clean the fringe yourself by dabbing at it gently with soap and water. If the fringes break when you touch them, they are too damaged to clean and need to be replaced. If the rug is handmade or very valuable you should not try to clean it yourself. Take it to a professional to clean. They will know how to repair it in a way that best maintains its value.
If your machine-made rug has dirty fringe that is damaged, the easiest solution is to replace the fringe. Bond Products offers cotton fringe in a variety of colors. It’s sold by the foot, cut to the size that you would like. You can remove the damaged fringe and replace it with new. In fact, we have a lock-stitch TMB sewing machine we use and sell here at Bond Products, and we even have a video explaining the process on our website. You can also use a heavy duty sewing machine for this purpose.
Discolored cotton fringe does affect the look of a rug, but a new fringe will add something special and revive your rug. If you need any help replacing your cotton fringe or selecting a color of fringe, contact Bond Products at 1-888-800-BOND. We are always glad to assist you with any of your carpet and area-rug needs.
