Fringe repair is charged by the hour, and cost will depend on a number of factors. I can repair an existing fringe, or completely replace it in about any design you desire. Many times, with beaded purses that are in excess of 70 years old, the fringe is the first thing to go, leaving a ragged mess at the bottom of a beautiful purse! If it is just a section that needs repair, be sure to look over the rest of the fringe to make sure it is still strong, as often times it has deteriorated and will not last with the repaired section.
There are many factors involved when determing price: style of fringe, density of fringe, bead size and width of purse to be fringed. There are so many different styles of fringe that it would be impossible to show them all. Below are just a few examples of my own fringe work and the time invested in each fringe. You can use them as a gauge based on my rate of $25 an hour.
This purse has a permanent twist fringe and is 7" across the bottom. The beads were sizes 16/0 and 18/0 and the entire fringe represents 8 hours of work. It is very thick with minimal space between each strand. Permanent twist is far more time consuming due to the fact that each strand must be twisted against itself before attaching to the body.
Here is an example of a twisted loop fringe across a 7 1/2" purse body. Each strand is connected to the other with three twists and are separated by about 1/8". This fringe represents approximately 6 hours of work. This type of fringe is very versatile, and can be done with no space between the strands for a very thick look. The strands can also be spaced further apart. The more space between strands, the less time investment.
I absolutely loved this purse when the client sent it to me for repair of some missing beads. I convinced her to let me fringe it, and decided on a joined twist fringe. The beads on this purse were larger in size, more like size 14/0 through 16/0, so I made sure to space the fringes a bit wider apart. It hangs very nicely and complements the purse perfectly. The bag measures 6 3/4" across the bottom and represents 2 1/2 hours of work.
The rest of this fabulous steel beaded purse can be seen in the "Steel Beaded" purse section of my website! The original lattice fringe was tattered and needed to be replaced. There are 4 sections of lattice-work with fringe attached, accounting for 12 hours of work due to the small size of the beads
