Self Fringing Shawl

 

It has been quite a while since I knit anything due to other crafty endeavors, work, and life in general. Lately I have felt in the mood to pick up yarn and needles again, especially with the cooler weather. I wanted a project that didn't require too much thought, something I could work on while watching TV and something that didn't require keeping track of a stitch pattern.  Garter stitch fit the bill, plus I really like garter stitch.  I have wanted to knit a self fringing shawl since around the time I learned to knit, so that is what I decided I wanted to work on.  I had a few false starts, but finally finished a nice, fringy shawl I am sharing with you below. 

Usually, I prefer to work with natural fibers; for this project, I decided to go with 100% acrylic.  With natural fibers, blocking is essential to open up the stitch pattern.  Since I used garter stitch, I wasn't too worried about having to block to show off a stitch pattern. Plus I don't really have a good place to put down blocking mats to pin out my shawl.  The yarn is machine wash/dry, but I chose to lightly steam it to straighten out the fringe and neaten up some of my uneven stitches a bit, and I also didn't want to tangle my fringe.

The shawl is worked side to side - cast on a few stitches and increase until the required number of stitches is reached, then decrease until only a few remain.  Here you can see where the increase section turns to the decrease section. 

Once you have fastened off the body stitches, you just unravel the remaining stitches to create your fringe.  

In the Supplies list I mention a straight cable needle or DPN for knotting the fringe.  This is completely optional and the purpose it to just help in getting the knot of the fringe close to the body of the shawl.  A little trick I use when I finish sewing (repairing a small rip or tear in clothing) when I tie off the thread, I stick the needle into the loop of thread to help tie it as close to the fabric as possible.  Once you've made the knot, before tightening, place the cable needle or DPN against the body of the shawl, then pull on the fringe and wiggle the knot down to the base of the shawl.  Again, this is completely optional and you may find it more fiddly than necessary.

I weighed my skein of yarn without the ball band, and it was 11 oz.  I used about 6 oz total.  For the cast on and end tail, you can leave these a bit long so you can loop them to make a couple of extra fringes, or you can weave them in as you would normally weave in loose ends.

Supplies:

Yarn: Lion Brand Mandala Bonus Bundle (I used the Meowth colorway) or any #3 weight yarn (light worsted/DK)

Needles: US Size 10 circular - 24" or longer

Notions: stitch marker, yarn needle (for any loose ends you may have), scissors, straight cable needle or DPN (for knotting fringe, optional)

Gauge: 3 sts per inch on steam blocked fabric - not super important for this project

Finished Shawl Size: 

Center to Tip: 28 inches, not including fringe

Fringe: about 3-1/2 inches long

Tip to Tip: 78 inches

Abbreviations:

sts = stitches

kfb = knit into the front of next stitch and knit into the back of next stitch

k2tog = knit next two stitches together

Cast on!

Cast on 6 sts

Increase Section:

Row 1: knit

Row 2: k1, kfb, place marker, k4

Row 3: knit all sts, slipping the marker when you get to it

Row 4: knit to 1 stitch before marker, kfb, slip marker, k4

Repeat Rows 3 and 4 until you have 100 body stitches - plus 4 fringe sts; you will want to have ended with Row 3.

Decrease Section:

Row 5: knit to 2 sts before marker, k2tog, slip marker, knit 4

Row 6: knit all sts, slipping the marker when you get to it

Repeat Rows 5 and 6 until 7 sts remain; you will want to have ended with Row 6.

Finishing:

Row 7: k1, k2tog, slip marker, k4 - 2 body sts remaining

Row 8: knit

Last Row: k2tog, remove marker. Cut yarn and pull tail through last worked stitch. Remove needle from the four remaining sts.

Fringe:

Unravel remaining four sts and knot. Cut if desired or leave as loops.  Weave in any loose ends, 

block as desired.

Here is a video showing the steps for knitting your shawl. Happy Knitting!

Knitted Fringe

I have seen a number of knitted fringe instructions in old books, and finally decided to give one a try.  At first, I couldn't imagine how this would work out, but of course it does!  It's a little bit of knitted magic.

You can use any yarn and needles you like.

Cast on 8

*K2, YO, K2tog*

Just repeat this for every row, until the fringe is as long as you like.  Then, bind off five stitches.  Cut the yarn and pull the tail through.  You will have some stitches just hanging around on the left needle - these will turn into the fringe.  Slide the remaining stitches off the needle, and unravel them.

You can then attach your fringe to knitted or crochet items.  You can sew the fringe on with a tapestry needle, or attach it with a crochet hook and single crochets.  I attach mine with a crochet hook in the video below.  You can hold your fringe and the item you are attaching it to with right sides together, so the crochet seam is on the back, or you can hold them wrong sides together, and the seam can be used as a decorative element.

I suppose you could even make the fringe on some fine crochet cotton, and sew it on with a regular needle and thread.  I think this would look so pretty as a decoration on a pillowcase, or maybe some nice dinner napkins.

Beaded Fringe

To go with the Double and Triple Knotted Fringe from last week, I thought I would throw in Beaded Fringe.

So super simple to do!  All you need are some beads appropriate for your yarn, a crochet hook or bead needle ( or other gadget to get the beads onto the yarn ) and you are ready.  Beads that are too big can fall off; if you find some beads that you really want to use, but they are too big for a single strand of yarn, you can use multiple strands, or after threading the yarn through the bead, bring the tail up and tie a knot above the bead.  Loopy beads :0)  I didn't show this in the video, because it only occurred to me now as I write this.

You can place the beads anywhere on the strands of fringe you like.  Near the top, bottom, or somewhere in the middle.

You can put them on randomly, or place them in specific places.  Use different colors, whatever you like.

Here is a short video.  Have fun adding beads to your fringe!

Double Knotted Fringe and Triple Knotted Fringe

Double Knotted Fringe

I love fringe.  It can turn a boring scarf into something more fun.  Usually, a single knotted fringe will suffice; but sometimes something a little more fancy is nice.

Here is a video showing both double and triple knotted fringe.  I am sure others may have their own methods, this is the easiest way for me.  If you make fringe, and find a different way works better for you, that is fine too.  You know my rule - there is no wrong way!

Triple Knotted Fringe

Make sure that your starting strands are at least several inches longer than you intend for the final fringe to measure.  The tying of knots takes away from the length, as does trimming the ends if you intend to do so.  It is better to have fringe that is too long than not long enough.  If you need to know how to add a simple, single knotted fringe, go HERE.

Once you have your single knotted fringe on, you can do the double or triple knotted fringe.  With the exception of the first and last group of single knotted fringe, all you are doing is tying an equal number of strands from each group of the single fringe together.  For the first group of fringe, I use the whole bunch, tied together with half of the second group of fringe.  For the last group of single knotted fringe, I use the last half of the next to last group, and tie it to the entire last single knotted fringe.  You can do as many rows of knots as pleases you, but for me I find one or two rows is enough.  Remember, make sure you have enough yarn so that your fringe still has some length to it after you have tied knots and trimmed ends.   I would recommend adding just a few test groups of fringe to see if you end up with the desired result, before cutting enough yarn to fringe your entire piece.

Adding Fringe

Hi all!  I am in the process of adding fringe to a little project I've been working on, and thought I'd share how to do it, incase you have never played around with fringe before.  Here is the video.  Enjoy!