Tutorial: Fringe on the tri-loom

I was finishing up a tri-loom shawl today. It is done in Lion brand Homespun yarn, in soft creams and earth tones, and will be shipped off to Shane's Granny in the next day or so. By this point, adding fringe to the shawls is old hat to me, but as I was working it occurred to me that not so very long ago I had no idea on how to do this. This may be simple for most of you, but for those of you who like me had never added fringe to anything, here's a few pictures of how I did it:


First off, I figured out how long I wanted the fringe to be. I doubled that length and added a bit, because the yarn will be doubled over and knotted on the shawl. Then I found a book that was the right size and wound my yarn around the book. Then I cut the yarn. Much better than cutting and measuring each piece of fringe one at a time! I knotted the ends of this yarn, since it is prone to fraying if not controlled. Then I used a hair tie around the bundle of yarn, to keep it from tangling before I got to using it.



Once I had the yarn cut and tied, I grabbed a crochet hook that would fit between the pegs on my loom. I like nice full fringe, so I grabbed two strands of the cut yarn.






I doubled the yarn over the index finger on my non-dominant hand, lining up the cut ends together.











Now, I took the crochet hook and went between the pegs, up under the yarn and into the first little square formed by the weaving. I slid the loop of yarn on my finger over the crochet hook, and turned the hook downward so I could catch the loop in the next step. (I know it shows me doing this all one handed in the pictures, but I actually use two hands for this process, with the hook in my dominant hand. I had to hold the camera somehow though, and my toes just aren't that nimble.)




I pulled the loop through the opening and down.












Some people are good enough with the crochet hook to use it for this next step. I'm not. I store the hook in my spare hand while I reach through the loop with my dominant hand in order to grab the fringe.









Pull the fringe through the loop.













Pull down with one hand, and use the other to snug up the knot nice and tight, evening up the ends as you go.











I usually start at one corner of the shawl, and work my way down the loom to the bottom. I add extra fringe at the bottom, just to make sure it looks full enough. Then back up to the top of the other side, and the shawl is ready to bind off and take off the loom.




Doesn't this look all snuggly and soft? I love wrapping up in these shawls! The fringe really is the finishing touch, making it feel deliciously luxurious.



(This yarn is machine washable, but I find fringe tangles in the machine if you're not careful. To wash, I put it in the washing machine on the 'handwash' cycle, then lay the shawl out flat to dry. Haven't had a problem yet.)

Twisted fringe again

A while ago I did a little tutorial on how to make twisted fringe. For that project, it was easier to twist the fringe with my fingers as I went along, since it was a relatively thick yarn and only took a couple of twists for each fringe. But this time I'm making the fringe for a belt woven out of cotton crochet thread. I could do it by hand...but it is ever so much easier with the right gadget for the job. And I am all about fiber gadgets! In this case, I'm using a Leclerc fringe twister. It is basically two alligator clips attached to bent metal rods. The rods are spun by rotating the top piece of wood.

Here's how: Separate out an equal number of threads, and attach the clips to the ends.







Rotate the top piece of wood, which spins the clips and so twists the threads together in their separate batches. Count how many times you rotate the handle, so your fringe is consistent.









Undo the clips, and tie the two bundles of thread together at the ends.







Let go. The bundles will twist back on themselves, making a stable fringe element.










And here is the finished belt! This was card woven, which I'll get into another time. But it makes for a very strong, sturdy band. This one is 5 1/2 feet long, not including the fringe. That makes it a nice length on me to tie around the waist. I'll probably end up donating this one to a gift basket, or to the prize box for the local SCA group.