Thread: sealing Egyptian fringe. w/a/nailpolish??

hmm... I have a gorgeous confection I am dying to wear, but the fringe is a bit wimpy. It's such a great & unusual color that I used it in spite of "shedding" fears. Sort of a super-rich, opaque yet sparkly sparkly deep French Vanilla color.

Anyway, I know that a lot of people seal up the tips of fringe with glyue, but has anyone here ever tried using clear nailpolish to do the job? Am I crazy, or would that work okay??

I have not used nail polish but have used "Fray Block," which can be purchased in most fabric stores.

Lisa

hmm. I used to know someone who sealed her veils with that, in lieu of hemming. I'm wondering how it would help on fringe ends.

Did it work well for you?

With fray check. put it in a bottle cap(from a coke bottle) and use a paint brush in stead of the squeeze applicator that way you don't get globs on one area and nothing on the next. It makes it go one evenly if you are doing a large veil. For fringe use a paintbrush (a little bigger than a lip brush)the kid disposable ones are great.
Also you can cut up a whole foods paper bag or cardboard from a sweater gift box and use so the fray check doesn't get on your table.It will leak through.
You can also use nail glue not nail brush. always have nail polish remover in case it gets on you. And well ventilated area if you are sensitive to fumes.
I hope this helps

Alrana

I've heard of nail polish used this way -- my first teacher would recommend that for all knots in a costume; I use Fray Check, but it is far more expensive.

I use clear nail polish. If you want to use nail glue please do a test on a few glass beads. One time Crazy Glue or Super Glue (cannot recall which), caused a haze on some beads. The ones that became hazy were also quite fragile, they quickly cracked and fell apart. Thankfully this was on a necklace, not costume fringe.

I've used it on the ends of fringe to reinforce the thread and keep it from untying, so if that's what you mean, then yes I have, and I think it works fine.

I also use this on my coin hip scarves. I find the ones with the heavier coins tend to lose coins because they can cut through the threads. So I reinforce the threads at every single hole with clear nail polish.

If you do this, get the quick-drying kinds of nail polish. It's easier to work with. Also, periodically separate the fringes so they don't dry stuck together. If you work on a flat surface, protect it with something. I usually use wax paper or tinfoil, because the polish doesn't seem to stick to those as much as to, say, newspaper (which I'm also afraid might get ink on the costume). With fringe, I prefer to hang the item and work on the ends of the fringe that way.

It takes quite a bit of np to do a costume or a hip scarf (i.e. almost half a bottle).

One other thing, work in a well-ventilated area. The fumes can get to you after a while. There is low-odour polish, which I prefer, but I haven't found it in the quick-drying variety.

My seamstress friend recommends using clear nail polish for the job, and I trust her advice. I've done it before, but not as much as I should, because I'm lazy. :)

Originally Posted by Shalimah

One other thing, work in a well-ventilated area. The fumes can get to you after a while. There is low-odour polish, which I prefer, but I haven't found it in the quick-drying variety.

oh I know how that goes....I was sealing the fringe on my blue lycra number I got in Paris over a holiday at my parents house...

My dad walked into the room and actually staggered back a little...once he recovered -- "what the hell are you doing?" in a dazed voice ..l;,