Tying Knots

When you are finishing the fringe, please use an overhand knot - or whatever the knot shown above is called. You can hold the left side and slide the knot into any position you want. I knotted three strands together in each knot.

I once tried tying off the fringe (in my young and foolish days) with square knots. The ends stuck out every which way and looked terrible. Please don't repeat my mistake.

Also this time I made the fringe shorter, about 4 inches. I have learned that if you leave long, luxurious fringe (6 inches or better) and then you wash your afghan, you will get the biggest tangled mess you ever saw.

Short fringe is better for blankets that will need cleaning once in a while.

Or you can wrap the whole thing in a towel while it is being washed and dried so the ends don't get a chance to interact with each other. Another option is to roll it up with the fringe in the middle, tie it that way, wash it, and then hang it over a clothes line or over the fence to dry.

Fair warning.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Knotted and Done

The lap robe I've been working on is finished. I tied the edge knots and trimmed the long ends this morning.

Maybe you will be better at tying knots than I am. Please forgive the unevenness.

I do know that double knotting the ends makes a wild and crazy fringe. The ends stick out all over. They need to be tied with an overhand knot two or three at a time. You can tie more ends at once if you wish, keeping in mind that the clusters will be farther apart and you might bunch up the edge if you pull the knots too close.

The one thing to think of is that the knots need to include at least one over and one under strand so the knots stay at the edge where they belong.

I'm getting more fabric tomorrow. Big project to work on by the middle of July.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Finished Baby Blanket

Here's the finished work. It only took a week - and I had to figure it out almost from scratch.

I have photos of the last couple of steps.

After I worked on the blanket for a while and had one end finished, I found that it was easier and cooler to turn the blanket and work from the middle out to the other end.

 After I finished, I was thrilled beyond description that I had knotted the edges as I went along at the end of each strand. You can't easily knot the beginning of each row, but it's only one more stitch to knot the ends.

After I finished the rest of the knots, I had to trim the fringe.

I hung the edge of the blanket over the side of the card table, straightened out the fringe, and trimmed it to a nice length on all four sides.

I think it came out okay, considering that I worked out most of the techniques by myself. Setting it up was the hardest part. Once I made the important decisions, it was as simple as anything I've ever made.

Give it a try. You might enjoy yourself and come up with a nice piece of yarn craft at the same time.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Fringe Options

Most of the time, you won't have to think about the fringe until your project is finished.
When I worked on this ripple pattern, I had some strands of yarn that are very short and only woven through a few holes in the mesh. I didn't want them to come loose while I finished the rest of the piece, so I thought about how I wanted the fringe to look right away.

Here's what the unfinished edge looks like.

I tried the traditional type of fringe which is to take a given number of strands and tie a knot near the edge of the fabric.

This blanket is for a baby. If I put a bunch of knots on the edge, both the mother and the baby are going to have those clumps pressed between them, leaving dents in their skin.  Not what I have in mind for a nice present.

I pondered the possibilities. If I just trimmed all the strands to an even length, it would look nice and LIKELY would stay together. But as I said, some of the strands at the lower edge are only attached to a few spaces in the mesh. One good tug and those would come out.  Also not what I have in mind for a nice present.

So I wondered what would happen if I made a small locking knot on each strand.

 

 

I threaded a short yarn needle and poked it back through the same space that it was last woven through. I didn't pull it tight. That forms a loop.

 

Then I pulled the needle through the loop and snugged it down to the mesh edge.

My concern was whether or not the knots would be large enough to cause rippling along the edge. After I completed knotting all of the strands, I was pretty happy with the way it came out. The edge looks smooth and doesn't have any uncomfortable clumps.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi