Area Rug Fringe Restoration Project from Jackson Hole, WY...

This rug meant a lot to this particular client. She opted for the fringe tassels to have new threads woven into the rug rather than a replacement(pre-made) fringe sewn on. All work is performed by us, here at our local Western Wyoming facility.

Area rug fringes are the most noticeable component of the rug.  When the fringe looks dirty, the rest of the rug looks dirty.  When the fringes are bright and pop out at you, the whole rug looks clean.  When the fringes appear dirty, it is already far past the time that the rug needs to be in for a thorough cleansing.  We brought in this little beauty last month for a cleaning and a repair/re-construction of the fringe areas that were eaten by the clients dog.  We see a lot of fringe issues from pets, but even more so from vacuum cleaners.  Some of the vacuums that are out nowadays have so much power to the brush roller that they can rip a tassel(or tassels) right off before you can stop them.  There may be two posts about this particular rug because it also showcases the level of cleanliness that our cleansing process delivers.  For now, we will focus on the fringe restoration...

Once the new tassels have been woven in, you will notice the difference in texture and color between the new fringe and the original fringe.

Before we can get this rug into the hands of our in-house repair artisan, we need to see what color the fringe ACTUALLY is underneath all of the years of build-up that you can see in the picture above.  It is worth noting that this rug had been 'tea-washed' when it was woven before being brought to market for sale.  Tea washing is a practice of 'antiquing' these kinds of textiles.  The rug is basically being made to appear as though it is older and more authentic than it really is.  Although this rug is a nicely made, hand-woven piece, it is not an antique collector piece or even a semi-antique rug.  The current trend for a lot of contemporary rugs that we receive  into our shop to clean, are made within the last 10-20 years and a lot of them have been 'antiqued.'  The rugs are hand knotted like they have been for hundreds of years, the pile is shorn/trimmed down to make it look worn, the dyes are rinsed with a chemical solution to soften the colors and the final step for some rugs, is that they are washed in a tea-like liquid that darkens the color tones even more.  The picture of the fringe above, shows that the fringe was a greenish color and you can see how the tea wash has been worn off from foot traffic on the tips of the fringe as they look whiter than the knotted area of the tassel.  We always give clients the option to have the rug re-tea washed after we have purged it from the rug.  We do offer tea-washing here at our facility in case this is desired by the client.  

During our cleansing process, we remove all of the tea wash from the rug and the fringes(note the picture above with the half of the fringe cleaned and tea wash free and the other side, yet to be removed).  Once the rug is dry after the cleaning/washing, the repair can commence.  

Fringes come in many different materials.  Usually, the fringe is the foundation yarn of the rug that runs lengthwise and is technically called the 'warp' threads/yarns.  We carry many different materials in order to closely match the original materials that the rug was made with.  This allows the repair to be unnoticeable for future client enjoyment.  This particular case was a bit of a challenge because the original fringe was very worn and had yellowed a bit from the exposure to the tea wash over time.  

After trimming the tassels to match the original fringe in length, the new tassels are distressed and dyed to match the color of the original warp yarns(fringe tassels).  This is all completed one thread at a time in order to pay attention to detail.  The original fringe is not all one uniform color, so the new fringe is dyed to match that color scheme.  Why not just bleach the fringes you ask???  Bleach rots cotton.  It breaks it down and the cotton will literally be disintegrating at a rapid rate once it is exposed to bleach.  True, bleaching CAN be done more safely than has been outlined, but we are in the preservation business and we avoid bleaching at all costs leaving it up to the client to proceed with any bleaching projects after the client has been well informed of the risks.  Once the fringes have all dried from the dye process, they are re-evaluated and some are given additional treatments and the rug is ready for our stain protector Microseal.  

This really turned out nice. The fringes really do make this rug!

In conclusion of this post, we would like to mention that this service is not as expensive as it looks(but we are not cheap either;).  We strive to be as efficient as possible in all of our processes so that we can make a decent profit and offer our clients the highest level of quality at the most fair price.  Rug repair services like this fringe restoration are priced for time and materials individually.  If you have a fringe that needs some attention and you would like to know what your options are, give us a call.  We can usually ask for pictures to be texted or emailed to us for an initial evaluation.  Our turn around time depends on how much volume we are currently experiencing at that time(usually 7-10 business days), and keep in mind that we do all of our work here at our cleansing and repair facility in Western Wyoming.  

-Rug Reviver
(307-774.RUGS)
                     7847