Ask Madelyn: Edges for Baby Blankets

Hello Madelyn, I wove a soft washable-wool baby blanket (that came out beautifully) for my new granddaughter. The blanket has a 1½" fringe at both ends. When she was about a year old, she began pulling on the fringe, which distorted the warp and the fringed edges. I ended up having to cut off the fringe and turn the ends under to sew hems. Is there a way to preserve the fringe on a baby blanket so that the warp ends are secured? I had originally finished the fringed ends by hemstitching around three warp ends and over two weft rows. Should I machine zigzag the ends? I’d love to make more baby blankets with fringe if there is a “fix” for the problem. I'm sending a photo of another blanket showing the hemstitching I used. Thanks so much, Carol

Single hemstitching

Hi Carol!

I can imagine that a row of single hemstitching would not be enough to lock the warp threads in place. Instead, you could try double (Italian) hemstitching, as shown below, pulling the stitches very firmly. As a further guarantee, allow enough fringe length so that you can tie tight overhand knots in the fringe, using the same number of ends encircled by the hemstitching in each knot and snugging the knot against the stitch. Then trim the fringe to the desired length.

Madelyn

Italian hemstitching: Take the needle under and around a number of warp threads above the fell, then from the top down along a diagonal around the same number of warp threads several weft rows below the fell (Figure 1), then around the same number below the fell (Figure 2), then back around a new group of warp threads above the fell and down and around them (Figure 3), and continue.

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If you have a weaving question we would love to hear from you! Please email Madelyn! May/June 2017.

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