Persian and Oriental rugs tend to be very sturdy and can take a lot of “abuse.”
But the tassels on a rug can become damaged, either by getting sucked into a vacuum cleaner, damage from the dealer (very rare), and even normal wear and tear.
If you notice that your rug is “shedding” pieces of fringe, or if you see empty spaces on the fringe itself, read below to learn how a professional will repair your rug’s fringe.
You’ll notice missing pieces of fringe the most after cleaning the rug (especially if you cleaned it yourself). This is because dirt and grime and even gunk may have been holding the pieces in place. Washing removed the gunk, and the loose fringe pieces went with it.
You never should repair the fringe on your rug yourself. It takes considerable skill honed over years of practice to do the job properly. You need to give the rug to a professional to replace/repair your rug’s tassels.
Never try to repair a rug’s fringe yourself; the skill needed is considerable
When it comes to repairing your fringe, there are two things that a professional repair specialist will do: replace it or hide the weak fringe pieces. The specialist will do this in one of three ways:
- Attaching a pre-made fringe
- Reweaving matching yarn into the rug’s main body
- Turning the fringe so that it lies under the rug.
Let’s take these one at a time.
- Attaching an already-made fringe is the best option should your rug be one made by machine (it’s not a true Persian or Oriental rug). The repair person will sew the pre-made fringe on with what is called – appropriately – a fringing machine. Some repair specialists are skilled enough that they can hand sew the pre-made fringe onto the rug, with better aesthetic results.
- Reweaving is the best option for a genuine Persian/Oriental rug. It’s also the most costly because the skill needed to do this task correctly is substantial. The repair specialist will work new yarn into the existing fringe, or may work it into the end of the rug (should the fringe wear go into the rug’s nap, it’s wise to also re-knot the rug’s nap.
- As for turning the fringe under the rug, many people like the “look” of a fringe-free rug (notice how many rugs are sold today that way). If you and your repair specialist go this route, ask the specialist to sew fringe under the rug and then cover it with hand-sewn fabric.
Persian Rug Cleaner of Dallas will expertly repair/restore your rug’s fringe. We’ll even pick it up and return it for free (so long as you live within the Dallas MetroPlex. Give us a call at 972-447-9600 to learn more about our repair and restoration services.
Image by Jonsafari (Own work) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY 2.5, GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0, or CC BY 2.5] via Wikimedia Commons.
