Rug fringing is a common finishing edge treatment for area rugs. This is often seen as long-fringed tassels, usually in a neutral off-white color.
This type of finish is usually needed in hand-knotted rugs, as it acts as the backbone fibers of the rug. On machine-made rugs, however, rug fringing is usually used as a decorative appearance and doesn’t serve any practical purpose.
While the look of fringe is often enjoyable and stylish, it’s sometimes seen as a difficult area rug finish to clean and maintain. When vacuuming, the ends tend to get sucked into the vacuum and tangled up. The fringe, unfortunately, is known to stain and soil but not clean easily. It’s also known to be more expensive than both binding and serging.