# question about something I can't change



## Chixarecute (Nov 19, 2004)

I thought you good people would be the ones to tell me "WHY?"

I have a commercial throw that I sometimes use on the bed over the comforter, probably an acrylic/blend, sort of a low, even chennille. It is knotted & fringed (tassled?) on 2 sides, opposite ends. 

One side, the tassles are always smooth, hang nice, run your fingers through them & they are good to go. I need to know WHY the other end, if you so much as look at it sideways, the cords jump & twist & snarl up right under the knot. :sob:

I literally have to separate each tassle strand by strand to get it to look decent. And even then it doesn't. It does seem to me that the tassles on the nasty end...the yarn that makes up each tassle, isn't smooth like the other end...a little kinked, and some of the yarns even have missing "fuzz."

I think, perhaps, that kinkiness contributes, but WHY is one end kinky and the other not?

Being used only a little, because I don't have time to untangle those tassles, it has never been washed.

Thanks for helping answer one of the great mysteries!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Well anyone who had ever worked with a chenille knows how wonderfully awful it is to work with. The word used all the time about chenille yarns is that they "worm", which means basically they have a mind of their own and don't like to stay put :run:

As to why one side stays nice and the other does not. I would guess it has something to do with how it was spun and in which direction. That is a pure guess on my part but in my cockeyed was seems logical :teehee:


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## Chixarecute (Nov 19, 2004)

Marchwind, from the way you started out, I didn't think the word you were going to describe was "worm!" 

So it's a normal condition. I guess I can live with that. I may still have to fold the darn thing up & put it back on the shelf. If I leave it on the bed it isn't too bad, but sometimes I (gasp!) move it - put it around my shoulders when I am reading in bed - & it gets all riled up.

Thank you!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Have you tried to wet the fringe? Maybe press it with a warm iron and a damp cloth over it?


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## ozarkcat (Sep 8, 2004)

Yeah, probably something with the twist of the ply or when the yarn itself was spun. And yes, chenille is EVIL . . . . . . .


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## rabbitgeek (Mar 22, 2008)

You have to be mean to chenille. 
Show it who is the boss.

I have a bag with several balls of chenille. 
They are not coming out until they learn to be nice.

ETA: Oh yeah, my first (and only so far) chenille project tamed down after a wash. You could try hand washing in warm water, squeeze water out, wrap in towel, then dry flat. Somebody said that acrylic responds well to STEAM ironing, with a pressing cloth. Your fringe may have developed a crease, which is common in acrylic fabric. The steam would help to flatten it back out. I get creases out of my acrylic scarves with hot water hand wash, squeeze water out, then iron while damp with a pressing cloth. If I leave my acrylic in washer for spin cycle I am guaranteed nice creases which don't come out in the dryer.

Have a good day!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I think Franco is onto something here. What is the throw made of? If it is machine washable I'd toss it into the wash, or wash it alone on gentle and either line dry it or better yet toss it into the dryer for a while (not too hot). If it is acrylic or some other synthetic I'd wash it.


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## Ana Bluebird (Dec 8, 2002)

Oh, I thought it was just me that chenille didn't like (now I know). I wonder if pouring on liquid fabric softener would help. Just a thought. I did that to some rough Cotswold and it did help soften it, but I don't know about "taming" it.


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