I must admit that sometimes the finishing of a weave is the funnest part for me. I often will weave from top to bottom so that I can get an idea of the weave’s body before deciding on how to finish the weave. In the past when I’ve started with a certain fringe in mind I’ll finish the weave and then feel like the fringe doesn’t match well. So now I usually just weave top down and save the fringe for last. I’ve even made a weave where I ended up flipping it upside-down making what I had planned on the bottom into the top of the weave, because it just looked better.
The finishing of a weave can also be really hard at times. I have a pile of weaves that need to be finished, like ends tucked in or hung from a rod, but one weave in particular is in the pile because I really don’t know how to finish the fringe. I made a fringe, but it just doesn’t look right to me, so in the pile it sits and it’s been there for a few months. Then out of no where today I found inspiration for how to finish it in a better way that will look much more interesting. I hate when I get stuck on a weave like that, but in the end it’s much better to have a weave I’m totally happy with then to just finish it to be done.
With that in mind, I wanted to write this post to share some of the different fringes and other finishings I’ve put on my weaves to maybe help inspire you with your own weavings. You know incase you’ve been stuck on one of your own weaves.
Layering the fringe – I like a layered fringe look because it adds a lot of depth to the weave. And there are many different ways to go about this. I’ve made weaves that have a stacked fringe, where each level is very obvious. I did this in my weave I called Day Dream. I felt like the stacked fringe looked simple and elegant.
I’ve also had weaves where the fringe is layered at the same length and then I make changes to the top layer of fringe to make it more interesting. For example in this weave, I knotted the two sides of the top layer of fringe so that the bottom layer showed more underneath and the top didn’t look so boring.
Adding details – I also like adding details to the fringe that makes it more interesting then just threads hanging. For both of these weaves I added a macrame square knot, but in different ways. In my Woven Knots weave, I combined different lengths of layered fringe with the square knots. And in my other weave, I tied the square knots in a different colored thread directly onto some fringe threads. If you’re interested in making your own square knots, you can find my post on it here.
Gathering the fringe – Sometimes a hanging fringe just doesn’t look right on a weave. When I start to feel this way, I’ll gather the fringe together and see how that looks on the weave. I’ve done this with two different types of weaves and gotten two different outcomes. If you recall the weave along that we did not too long ago, you’ll remember that to finish it I gathered the fringe and tied it off towards the bottom. I think this gave the weave a really polished look. A while back I had also made a completely different weave that was really wild in it’s form. It was a sideways weave that I talked about here. I like what I had made, but the side fringe was a bit too wild. Then I tried gathering the fringe together and that was just what I needed to make the weave look complete.
Adding non-fringe – There have been a few times when I’ve added something that isn’t fringe at all, for example when I added poms to this circular weave. I tied them to the weave with thread that I let hang down with the poms. It makes for a really interesting and unique finish to the weave and gives it a lot of personality.
And there are a lot more ideas then just those to finish off your weaves. Is there something you’ve done for a fringe that you’re really proud of how it turned out? I hope that this helps get your creative juices flowing.
Happy Weaving!
Kate
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