I'm lovin' FrayCheck.
Remember the little dress Sonia was wearing in the Three Girls in Goodwill Pink photos from a few years ago?
Well, it got handed down to Zoe last summer, and I keep having trouble with the ribbon on the straps fraying and coming loose. I've fixed them a few times now, but they continue to cause problems.
Now, Zoe will be too big for this dress by summer's end, so I could have just given up on it.
However, I really prefer to think about the big picture waste-wise, and I'd like to be able to hand this dress down instead of throwing it out.
I bought a bottle of Fray Check recently, and I realized this was a perfect use for it!
I picked all the stitching out that was holding the ribbon in place, and then snipped off the frayed parts of the ribbon.
Then I applied Fray Check to the ribbon ends and let them dry. Once they had Fray Check applied, they were SO much easier to work with.
I inserted them into the bodice of the dress, and sewed them on by hand (the area was too tricky to maneuver a machine through!)
Now the dress is in good shape again, and this time I have confidence that my fix is going to hold up.
I just realized this post sounds like a Fray Check commercial, but Fray Check has no idea who I am, and I bought my bottle of Fray Check with my own money.
Anyway, I'm really pleased with how it worked, and I can give it a hearty recommendation. You can buy FrayCheck at Amazon, but I got mine from a local sewing shop, and I think you should be able to find it at most craft stores.
Very cute! I use a wood burning tool to sear the raw edges of ribbons. It burns it without open flame, so no more fraying.
I have good luck with that when the ribbon is synthetic, but when it's cotton ribbon, I can't make it work.
I love Fray Check too! It's great on the cut edges of ribbons, buttons, the points of collars before you turn them....
That's great! I never thought to use Fray Check for ribbon ends, which would work well for something like this. For ribbon ends I've always carefully melted the edge with a candle flame.
I totally remember my mom having this when I was a little girl. I need to get this for my daughters clothes!
I actually heard some people use nail polish top coat (the clear stuff) for this. It probably doesn't last as long, though. 🙂
I am a HUGE fray check fan! My mom (an amazing seamstress!) introduced me to it years ago when cross stitching was all the rage. We would use it to "fray check" the edges of our completed projects before we framed them. I had forgotten about it until our daughter got married last summer and decided she wanted burlap table runners for all the tables at the reception! We cut and fray checked FORTY six-foot long table runners and it worked like a charm! And, they lasted, because in a stroke of frugal genius, I offered to "barter" the runners and other items we had made ourselves with the services of the wedding coordinator and it was a frugal win for all! She is still using our burlap runners for other clients!
Proud mama moment: our daughter's wedding was featured on the popular wedding blog "Style Me Pretty" if you want to see some pictures. (I've added the link below-and you can even see the burlap runner in one photo!) I am proud to say that we paid less for her 2012 wedding than my parents paid for my 1988 wedding and it was GORGEOUS, if I do say some myself! It was a TON of work but worth every single second for a perfect day with God at the center!
http://www.stylemepretty.com/2012/12/05/gettysburg-bb-wedding-by-abby-caldwell-photograph/
So, so pretty! You can see all the love that went into this special day. I did notice that there were virtually no "family" shots. I do hope you have lots of good family photos of that special day that are just not posted on the site.
I used to be the family wedding photographer (big family). My signature was a group shot with the entire clan. Eventually everyone got trained, and began telling me when it was "time" for the family photo. Years later, with grandparents and some parents now gone, I'm amazed at how often I see those group shots in places of honor in people's homes.
P.S. Been using Fray Check since my Girl Scout days. Love it!
Yes! We have lots of family shots. The SMP website was to highlight all the little touches-not the people so much-so that's what they chose to show. I am so thankful we have those photos because we lost my dad in April-rather unexpectedly-and those are the last family photos we will ever with him.
Thanks for your kind words!
Looks like you found a good solution to keep the dress wearable.
A couple of tips with Fray Check
- use a darning needle (or pin head) to apply it, for greater control of product, and less chance of dripping where you don't want it
-if you don't like the stiffness that results (like when when using on a seam or long edge of fabric), right after you apply it, use the steam setting on your iron and a pressing cloth, and steam-iron it until it dries, keeping the iron moving the entire time.
If Fray Check is still too stiff, there's also Fray Block. It's more liquidy, but comes in a tiny tube. You puncture the tip of tube with a small needle and can control the application that way. It spreads out, dries clear and is much more flexible than Fray Check.
I've used both products very successfully, and each has their own place of use, IMO.
Interesting....I often wonder about this sort of trade off. Disclaimer - I'm not a seamstress at all, so I probably don't understand the wonders of this product, but when does bringing another plastic bottle of something (that appears to be flammable?? so possibly toxic?) into the home make more sense environmentally than just throwing away one item of clothing? Does the clothing decompose faster than the chemical/bottle? (I'd guess so, but not sure) What chemicals make it flammable? Do I want that on my family's skin? And in other circumstances, I've spent money to repair something with a product like this, only to discover that said thing still falls apart faster than buying a newer, although still used, product.
Anywho, I LOVE your blog and only mean this in a 'posing a question' sort of way, not trolling or to be mean or anything :).....please don't take this offensively! I really just do mean to pose the question because I sort of struggle with it while trying to be frugal and sustainable.
Err....reading my above post it still sounds judgy, gah, sorry! Thanks for sharing all your ideas! And if you sew a lot, I can see how this would save a lot money probably.
I've had the same bottle for years, and have repaired many items with it, so it does not necessarily preserve just one garment.
No worries at all. 🙂 As someone else said, the bottle of Fray Check can fix dozens of garments, so due to that, I think it's a win ultimately. If you had to use a whole bottle to fix a single garment, though, I'd feel a lot more iffy about it.
The rest of the dress is in great shape-the ribbons are the weak part. So now that that's taken care of, I think the dress will hold up nicely. I understand what you mean about repairing something that's on its last leg, though...in cases like that, it's often not worth it to invest time and materials into a repair.
The Fray Check won't actually be on anyone's skin, because the part I applied it to goes inside the bodice-it's totally contained.
I'm glad you felt like you could raise questions, and please don't feel shy about doing that in the future. As long as you're not combative about it, I really don't mind.
Fray Check is my BFF. I discovered it when I performed in and made our renaissance festival costumes that used lots of trim. I've kept a tube in my sewing desk ever since. There is another brand that comes in a larger metal tube I use because it is like buying it in bulk since you use just a bit at a time. Sorry I can't remember the name.
I too am a big fan of fray check.
Most recently I used it when I discovered a pin prick hole in a beloved tee shirt. A dot of fray check on the whole means that it will remain a pin prick & not spell the end of my black tee.
hole not whole
I should have proof read before posting
Maybe a whole is a really BIG hole. Hee.
Fray check looks handy. I love using fabric scraps to make birthday buntings/banners and this might make the work a lot easier!
Off topic, what brand is that dress? It's adorable!
I used Fray Check *all* the time, back when I did counted cross-stitch embroidery. Then I used it on clothing, especially when I had to sew a button on something. It's great stuff.
I just wanted to suggest that when the dress gets too small, you can make it into aprons. You can get one full apron that goes around the neck from the front of the dress, and then fold the back piece over and make it into a half apron that ties at the waist. You'll just need to sew the edges and add new ribbon for tying it. I always found it hard to find aprons of the right size for my daughter when she was small, so we did this on a couple of her outgrown dresses and she loved being able to use her favorites a few more years as aprons.
We r big fans of turning dresses into tunics worn with leggings when those summer dresses get too short, as long as they fit in the bodice. My daughter has several dresses she has actually worn out over two or three years this way
We do that too! Leggings are such a helpful wardrobe addition.
A good job well done. I have a sewing box with thread of every colour known to man (or woman) and I'm the family "repairer/mender". I stitch on my grandsons Scout badges, stitch gaping seams on poorly manufactured clothes for the whole family, when my sister-in-law comes over from the UK I alter her clothes for her. Couldn't do without the sewing box. I've never heard of Fray Check. I'll add it to my sewing box. Thanks for the tip.
I learned to take a match or lighter and CAREFULLY take the flame to the end of the ribbon. It melts the ribbon just a tad...........and no fraying...........works like a charm!
I've been using Fray Check since I was a teenager when my grandmother taught me to sew years and years ago. I use it on lots of things. It's the best thing on the earth!
I just wanted to thank you for your testimonial and share another (less conventional) application for this glue. I crochet baby booties and have been using Fray Check to secure the aglets or lace ends in a fashion that resembles real shoe lace ends. I had used a more glue-like substance before but love that Fray Check is washable and non-toxic in its dry form for youth products. I have just discovered this product and like it much better than others I have tried. The liquid product also lasts quite a while for the cost.
The pattern that brought me here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/crochet-baby-converse