Using the Treasure Trove - The Ball Fringe Conundrum

The flat trim that I used to make one of these bracelets (the center one in the top photo) originally had ball fringe attached.

As much as I like a good ball fringe (I mean, who doesn't?), the idea of having those tassels flopping on a bracelet didn't sound particularly appealing. Or manageable. Or pleasant for those around you, especially if you use your hands when talking.

So, the trim got a haircut. Or a fringe-ectomy. It became ex-fringe.

       

The puffy tassels of the fringe were beyond salvage. They were originally glued very securely to the decorators' sample books that they came from. The glue wouldn't come off, no matter how carefully I soaked and scraped, without absolutely wrecking the tassels.

However, in the process of trying to clean them up, I discovered that the tassel could be detached from the lovely thread-covered balls at the top of each fringe.

A good tug (sometimes escalating to wrestling pulling the tassel or the central bundle of thread with a pair of pliers) would release the tassel from the balls. While I forgot to take a picture of all of the liberated balls in a pile, here's a close up of one that gives you a good idea of the lovely luster of the thread covering.

And here are four necklaces I've made with them:

They are super lightweight and, as I said, most have a really lovely luster to the thread. It was a good reminder of the rewards of saying "what if" and experimenting!