Does anyone have any suggestions on how to finish off the edges of cut pieces of carpet? I purchased some carpet ends of industrial type carpet (not very plush, but will stand up to heavy use). I've cut this up into pieces that will fit into my boat, but the edges are raw and unfinished. Also, every time I vacuum them, a little more of the edges fall off/unravel. I've thought about sewing something around the edges, but I'm not sure if my sewing machine will handle the thickness, and the only thing I can find to sew around it is white, and my carpet is blue. I'd appreciate any suggestions! Thanks for your help.
Monica mentioned binding and here is what you need and how to do it . Carpet places that do it are well worth finding because it's a pain without the right stuff.
You need: latex or glue a long strip of cloth about 1.5 to 2 inches wide (you need to have enough to go around the carpet)(it looks better if color coordinated to the carpet) a stapler (if you can get it one that is like a large pair of scissors.
That's the best way I can describe it. or use a staple gun in conjunction with a metal plate)
Set your carpet down pile up. Place the clothe along the edge on top of the pile so the edge of the pile and the edge of the clothe are together. Staple along the edge. If you are using the staple gun/plate idea you would put your metal plate under the carpet and staple down the edge - move the palte and staple, move the plate and staple. Once you have the clothe stapled onto the carpet fold the clothe around the edge over the staples. Flip the carpet over so the back is facing up with the clothe kind of fanning out along the edge.
Put a bead of latex or glue along the edge just a little bit till you get the hang of what you're doing then you can advance to maybe doing a foot at a time.
Anyway, put down a small bead along the edge ( roughly over the back side of the staples ) and fold the cloth down over the back of the carpet on top of the glue and staples. Put down another bead and fold again. When you get to a corner you will have to cut the clothe (recommend diagonally) so the clothe doesn't ripple. Cut it just shy the corner of the carpet so you have some overlay / closed corner. Do each side of the carpet and let dry completely.
I would say glue, hot glue or a marine glue just place a bead along the edge where it is freying. The stuff mentioned above is for fabric the frey check and Stop Thread I don't think it will hold up if it gets wet. Anything that will hold those threads in place and hold up after being wet. what ever you use it on the back side. And if you use a hot glue gun use a stick or something flat to press the bead into the carpet. Happy Boating!
When we bought our remnant, the lady suggested I just use Elmer's Glue around the edges after I clipped stray ends. This seemed to work just fine for us, occasionally we'd have a loose thread, but not many.
When we were applying the glue to the edges, we tucked the carpet edge back and held it down with filled food cans such as soup, vegs., etc. until it dried.
The product mentioned before is Fray Check, but I would suggest hot gluing a strip of binding around the edges of the carpeting. Makes for a more finished looking edge.
There's a product called Thread Stop ( I believe). Comes in a tube and will stop the raveling. I like the idea of duct tape too. Will be more sturdy. Good Luck.
A standard sewing machine will NOT handle this - you could pay to get it bound, or hot glue a binding around. Another alternative is duct tape - that is what we used to do in college with carpet remnants for the dorm.
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