stitch pro { LOOPED FRINGE }

Jean Campbell

You love it straight, kinked, and branched, but have you tried it looped? Looped fringe is not
only easy to stitch, it makes a very full, very versatile fringe. Here are four of my favorite ways
to use looped fringe.

SIMPLE LOOP
These long, draping loops are a great way to edge the bottom of a bag or to romanticize the bottom of a necklace. I’ve shown it here with seed beads, but this type of fringe looks great with other beads, too, such as fire-polished, pressed-glass, crystal, or pearl. And don’t forget the drops and daggers; they look great at the center of this fringe.

String 15 to 30 beads, skip 2 to 3 beads on the edge of the work, and pass through the
next bead; repeat to add large loops along the edge of the work.

TIGHT LOOPS
This technique is the same as above, but because you’re working with a smaller number of beads and making the stitches closer, they naturally twist, especially when you use tight tension. This is a great embellishment for any place you need a full, fluffy fringe. Though seed beads work best to achieve the twist, don’t underestimate the fun of a drop, pearl, or crystal at the center.

String 10 beads and pass through the next bead along the edge of the work; repeat down
the edge of the work, allowing the loops to twist on themselves.




LAYERED LOOPS
This is looped fringe, too, but might look more like a tight edging. This is a great way to finish the straight sides of peyote or brick stitch since it covers those unsightly threads at the edges.

Exit up through an edge bead. String 5 beads, skip 1 bead along the edge, pass down through
the following edge bead, and up through the previous (or skipped) edge bead; repeat along
the edge of the work, taking care to always pass in front of the previous loops.

INTERLOCKING LOOPS
This is an eccentric fringe, but especially fetching at the bottom of something round (such as a cylinder bag) because the internal twists become sculptural, much as a cable on a knitted fisherman’s sweater. You’ll want to add more, rather than less, beads in each loop of this fringe; you need more beads per loop to interlock them.

String 20 or more beads, skip 1 to 2 beads along the edge, and pass through the next edge
bead. *String 20 or more beads (the same amount as the last loop), pass through the previous
loop, skip 1 to 2 beads along the edge, and pass through the next edge bead; repeat from *
across the edge of the work. Note: Take care to pass through each of the previous loops in the
same direction so the twists are all oriented the same way.