charlottequilts

Good morning -

I am making a quilted toy that has a bow. All the ribbons I have fray terribly when cut, so it will be an adventure turning the edges under. Fray-soft doesn't seem like a good idea. Is there a type of ribbon that's less likely to fray on the ends or edges when tasted?

thanks,
charlotte

SusieQOH

I'd say grosgrain.

juliasb

I have used candle wax to seal the ends. It doesn't take much and you wipe it quickly so it only lightly saturates the end of you ribbon. The grosgrain sounds like a great idea too.

Tartan

Grosgrain ribbon doesn’t fray on the edges but will fray when the ends are cut. If you are using wider grosgrain ribbon you can fold the ribbon end in half, stitch across the bottom with a zig zag and then push the little pointed end right side out or fold the end of the ribbon up twice and top stitch it straight.

my-ty

Brush ends of ribbon with clear nail polish.

bearisgray

The cut ends of grograin ribbon unravel.

If the ribbon is very narrow, tie a knot in it and brush the ends with fray block, fray check, or nail polish.

If the ribbon is wider, as far as I know, if you do not want to use fray block, fray check, or nail polish, then "hemming" the ends of the ribbon is the only thing I can think of to stop the unraveling.

Cutting a ribbon at an angle will slow down the unraveling, but will not stop it.

JustRetired

I make lots and lots of hair bows. To prevent the ribbon raveling, I use a wood burner to "cut" it. I just lay the ribbon in a glass pie pan and drag the hot wood burner over it, this seals and cuts it all at one time. If you do not have a wood burner, you can cut the ribbon and then run a lighter or candle flame along the edge to seal it. I have not found any type of ribbon that this will not work on. If you are cutting alot, put a hot pad under your pie pan.

charlottequilts

These are ideas I would never have thought of - wow! I'm a bit out of my depth with this.

I should have said it was a baby toy, hence my reluctance to use Frayblock, although maybe it would still be ok.

I am going to try several of these ideas, once I find some grosgrain ribbon. Thanks ever so much - there is so much generosity and expertise here.

charlotte

bearisgray

When sealing the ends of polyester webbing, I had more control using a candle than a lighter.

quiltingshorttimer

as a kid I wore a ribbon in my hair and my Mom always bought grograin and cut a V in the end and it never frayed.