When I first started making scarves, I cut the fringe by hand with scissors. I would carefully line the knots up along the edge of a table, then sit on the floor next to it and - with the fringe hanging down - try to cut a straight line. This method was time consuming and impossibly flawed. Yarn - especially wool and acrylic - is notoriously springy and tangly, and it is almost impossible to keep each strand hanging straight at the same tension while you cut the other strands. Ugh.
Fortunately, around the time I committed to One Hundred Scarves, I devised a much better method involving a straight edge and a rotary cutter. I thought I'd share some photos of how nicely this works.
Step 1: Lay the scarf on the cutting mat. Align the knots to a line. Comb the fringe out with fingers to make it lay flat.
Step 2: Place the ruler over the fringe, aligning the edge with a cutting line where you want the fringe to end. Pull the fringe taut underneath. Cut with rotary cutter. Clear away the excess. Done!
Seriously, I'm making it sound harder than it is. It's so easy and creates such a nice, straight line. I'm very grateful for this method (and to my mother-in-law, who gave me these tools).
Check out this nice clean cut.
There are so many little details like this that go into the making of a great scarf - weaving is just one small part in the end.
2 comments:
And I guess you could scoop or angle the fringe too, if it worked for the overall look.
"A 15-degree slant on that fringe! How dashing."
What a fun idea! I'll have to see if any of my scarves are dashing enough to warrant an angled fringe. :)
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