Tutorial to Fringe a Miniature Rug

Making a Tapestry Yarn Fringe

• 1

  Check to see if the ends of the rug are bound, i.e. have been oversewn or "whipped" at each end. If so, move on to Step 2. If they are unbound, bind them using either a blanket stitch or a simple whip stitch with 3-ply tapestry yarn, sewn as closely together as possible using a darning needle and protecting your push finger with a thimble. Use two strands of yarn when sewing. When the edges have been bound, no part of the edge of the rug should show through the binding.

• 2

  Make small tassels by winding yarn around three fingers held together. Start with the end of the yarn hanging down and wind three times, ending with the yarn up. Remove the loops of yarn carefully and wind the "up" length of yarn three times around the top half-inch of the loops to form a small head. Cut the yarn at 6 inches and thread it onto the darning needle. Sew the head securely so that the loops do not slip. Cut the yarn, and cut the ends of the loops to form the tassel. Make enough of these tassels to fit along each end of the rug.

• 3

  Thread a single piece of yarn whose length is double the width of the rug and insert your needle into the binding about 2 inches from the edge. Run it inside the binding to emerge at the edge. This avoids having a knot showing through the fringe. Sew the first tassel to a yarn strand on the binding, then slip the needle inside the binding to the point where you want the next tassel. Repeat this process all the way along the edge.

• 4

  Make sure the last tassel is secure, tie a discreet knot, slide the needle through the binding to a point 2 inches in from the edge, and cut the yarn. Tuck the end into the binding with the needle point. Repeat for the other end of the rug.

Crochet

• 5

  A second option for making tassels is to bind the ends of the rug as previously described, but this time with 6-ply cotton, and crochet three rows of double crochet along each end by working the crochet needle into the binding. Knot the end and secure with a small stitch into the binding.

• 6

  Wind the cotton round your fingers as previously when making tassels, but this time do not make the heads at the top. Instead, cut through the ends at the bottom so that you have a large number of double-length pieces of cotton.

• 7

  Hold the ends of a length of cotton yarn, insert the crochet hook into one end of the crocheted rows, pushing downwards through the hole, and pick up the looped end of the cotton. Pull the loop up through the hole, slip the two ends through the loop and pull tight. Continue all the way along each end of the rug.

• 8

  Add more interest to the fringe with a knot design by knotting the left and right lengths of adjoining fibers a quarter of the way down their length, and knotting again along the length to form diamond shapes within the fringe. You can leave the two outside fringe pieces plain. Be judicious with knotting because this is a small rug, and you don't want to have the fringe size out of proportion with the rug.

Attach Ready-Made Fringe

• 9

  The third option is to buy fringe from a rug or carpet manufacturer or from a haberdasher. Buy a size of fringe that is in proportion with the small rug.

• 10

  Sew the fringe along the bound ends of the rug.

• 11

  In "The Rug Hooker's Bible," Jane Olson suggests that you sew the edge of the fringe to the underside of the rug, especially if it has a backing on it, then connect it to the top side of the rug by stitching through the yarn itself. She also suggests attaching rug tape all the way around the underside, to protect the base of the fringe as well as the unfringed edges of the rug.