This article is for all my penny pinching, frugal living, creatively resourceful yet sometimes lazy, financially challenged but can make lemonade out of lemons folks who are looking to add a little spice to those boring and out dated curtains, pillows and home accent pieces taking up residence in the comfort of your home.
Contrary to what you may have heard, in just a few simple steps, you can create great custom designed home furnishings without breaking bank or a sweat. All you need is a little imagination, a little patience and some trimmings and viola! pretty curtains, fun pillows, an elegant bedspread….all simply hand-crafted by you.
Here at J&O we carry a large selection of tassels, tie backs, rosettes, gimp braid, tassel fringes, onion fringes, and decorative cords in an assortment of colors and sizes to meet your crafting needs and give your interior accent pieces and window dressings the facelift you are looking for. Why spend almost $50 when with a little hot glue, needle and thread or adhesive spray, you can turn those plain purple pillows into exotic eastern inspired creations for just a few bucks. A 7/16” decorative cording in Midnight Meadow here, a 4” Tassel Fringe in Holiday Splendor there…Martha Stewart watch out! Here we come.
Whether you are revamping an item for yourself or someone else, it’s amazing how much difference the right trim can make in not only the look of the item, but its worth as well. That 1970’s set of old pale blue polyester drapes you got on sale from Gimbels can now be that set of beaded vintage drapes with a modern flair that have your children calling you ‘cool’ and interior design fashionistas wanting to know just ‘Where did you get those?!’
Whatever your personal style, whatever your personal taste, make your home your canvas in which to create works of art that are as unique and original as you; one trim at a time.
If you have a garment, home accent piece or window dressing that has lost its va-voom, or is just plain ole’ outdated, the simple and inexpensive options that could bring them back to life are only a few sentences away.
Short of doing a complete re-upholstering, window treatment or spending unnecessary hard earned money purchasing something new; why not just add a little trim? For some, the idea of trimming is restricted to tassels and gimp braiding, but let’s expand that avenue a little, for trim can encompass so much more.
By definition, trim means : material used for decoration or embellishment; as in decorative trimming. From the perspective of an artistic woman with a great imagination, those words basically translate to anything I can find that a needle and thread can pierce and hold in place. This of course means everything from buttons and raffia, to fabric scraps and beads.
I had an antique spread once that I received from one of the elders in my family. It was a simple bedding made from a beautiful raw silk fabric from India. It was lavender with irregular naps throughout that gave it some texture and character. Though it was old and plain, it was full of potential. So I stepped into my craft closet I affectionately refer to as “The black hole” and gathered up some remnants that would surely bring this well received ‘gift’ some new life.
Once I blew off the dust that had become the permanent blanket for some of my uncovered odds and ends, I gathered up a few cowry shells left over from a long necklace that fell apart during a wild night of African dancing, some royal purple glass beads from a jewelry project over the summer that lost my interest midway, and a couple spools of gold thread that I got on sale at the local J&O down the street. Little by little, I added my trim and turned my nana’s old spread into one uniquely beautiful bed dressing.
Over the next few weeks I rode my creative wave and upgraded a pair of Lee jeans from the 1980’s with red/white & blue striped ribbon for the annual Cinco De Mayo Festival in my city, I spruced up the solid colored cotton throw pillows on my futon by sewing on some lace applicades here and there, and added a few gold highlighted cowry’s to a rather country looking lace hemp skirt for my big date with the new organic food cart owner down the street.
With a little bit of creativity and a handful of freshly defined ‘trims’, my home and garment wardrobe are no longer fads of the past, but fashions for the future. Who knows, maybe with a little bit of focused effort I might join the countless other pack rats who have opened up uniquely one-of-a-kind stores on EBay and make millions. After all, one man’s revised home goods are another man’s treasure.
Oh yeah, did I mention that I picked up some of my great trims at J&O Fabrics? If you haven’t been, it is worth the visit. Check them out at http://www.jandofabrics.com/ and start creating your wonderful masterpieces today!
Check out our selection of fabric trim here. Check out our selection of tassels here. Check out our selection of cording here.
J & O Fabrics wants your next project to be spectacular, whether it's redecorating your home or working on a craft project. In our attempts to help you we like to pass on as much information as we can to help make your decision easier.
Trims can add so much more too any room’s décor and design and they are very versatile. What was traditionally applied to curtains, upholstery and other soft furnishings doesn’t necessarily apply to today’s rules. Now you can use trims to embellish craft projects, picture frames or even use on a wall. But what can be difficult is to know what each type of trim is. We hope the information supplied below offers some insight to that area.
Brush Fringe: A brush fringe is a cut fringe that has a flat skirt made of thin yarns. The heading of a brush fringe can vary from plain to a most elaborate gimp.
Bullion Fringe: A bullion fringe is a fringe made of plain or crepe cords rather than yarns. The heading can be plain or decorative. Bullion fringe is a heavy fringing traditionally used for sofa skirts, but the more delicate bullion fringes can be applied to curtains, throws and cushions and come in a wide variety of lengths.
Cord: A cord is plied yarn that has been twisted together. It is often used as an edging on pelmets and leading edges of curtains. Cording can also be attached to swag tassels to embellish curtain treatments.
Flanged Cord: Also known as lipped cording is plied yarn that has been twisted together with a tape (fabric edge) and is designed to be set into seams of sofa cushions and soft furnishings.
Gimp or Gimp Braid: A gimp is a flat, narrow, woven textile made in many styles. One or both edges of a gimp can be plain or cut, or have scalloped loops. Traditionally used on upholstery usually antique or reproduction, but can also be used on soft furnishings or as a wall braid. They add interest to curtains and blinds when sewn onto the edges, hems and valances.
Fringe or Tassel Fringe: Fridge is an edging with hanging tassels or threads used as decorations. A tassel trim is a plain or decorative gimp with attached tassels. They add finishing touches to curtains and throws and come in various lengths and widths of tassels.
Tiebacks: Tiebacks are cords or tassels which hold back curtains for a finished look. There are various types to choose from such as single and double tiebacks along with tiebacks that are beaded.
Key Tassels: are tassels that come individually and have a small loop at their top for attaching. They are often used in various ways on corners of cushions, valances, pelmets or to simply attach to a key on a door or piece of furniture.
Chair Ties: A chair tie is a cord with a tassel attached to each end. Chair ties are designed to be attached to a chair to make a decorative statement. They can also be sewn to two corners of a chair pad and then attached to the chair’s back support. So check out all our Trims, Tassles and Cords at jofabrics.com.
Do you find yourself looking for something new and different to add to your home decor? You may be tempted to repaint, buy new furniture or reupholster the furniture you have. A less drastic but still impacting step would be to add trims to your decor.
How can adding trim affect your home decor? First, trims add a distinctive stylistic element that captures the eye. Trims also add dimension and depth to rooms. Lastly, trims can bring out and highlight certain elements in in the furniture and fabric in a given room that you may not have noticed before.
Thus, by incorporating trims you can renew and invigorate your decor without spending an exorbitant amount or making drastic changes.
Among the trim varieties we carry are cord, gimp, tassels, tiebacks, rosettes and fringe. Following is a selection of some of these trims.
To begin with, let's take a look at some of our cording, which come in both lipped and non-lipped varieties:
See for yourself the effect that our designer trims can have on your home decor. Any one of our cords, gimps, tassels, tiebacks, rosettes or fringes can become an essential part of your home decor and add a new dimension to your rooms.
Our extensive selection encompasses more than 700 different trim items in over ten color ways apiece. With our trim fabrics, the decorative choices before will be greatly expanded, allowing you to achieve just the look you want.
Turn to our online fabric store for the latest in beautiful designer trim fabrics and you'll experience that with J&O there are sew many possibilities...
J & O Fabrics is a leader in online fabric stores with hundreds of discount fabrics including: upholstery, quilt, quilting, drapery fabric, fleece, decorator, felt, retro, upholstery fabrics and more!
This article is for all my penny pinching, frugal living, creatively resourceful yet sometimes lazy, financially challenged but can make lemonade out of lemons folks who are looking to add a little spice to those boring and out dated curtains, pillows and home accent pieces taking up residence in the comfort of your home. 
