How to seal shade cloth edge to stop fraying?

Question

Hi,

I had two shade cloth 'pull down' blinds installed on my deck to stop the rain coming in. They work well to prevent the rain however I see that the cut edges were not sealed/finished in any way. They are not fraying - YET - however I think they will over time. They have been installed for  around 12 months.

Is there any product that I could use to 'seal the edges? It will be fiddly as I cant take them down and the shade cloth runs down through a channel. The channel is wide though and I can slip it put to apply/attach something.

I've attached a pic of the edge.

Thank you,

Carole

MitchellMc · Answer

So the edge in the channel is not folded, hemmed or even melted to bind the fabric @cassy1? Say this was a sling lounge chair, where the fabric goes into a channel, it has a spline added and the fabric is wrapped around it and then hemmed. This is what stops it from being pulled out and also ensures the fabric doesn't unravel.

My only thoughts are that you could try and gain access and melt the end or have it hemmed.

Mitchell

cassy1 · Answer

Hi Mitchell,

Thank you so much for this detailed reply. So … the channel is quite wide and the cloth does just come out when there is a strong wind. I am very careful not to pull them down in the wind! To be honest I'm not that happy with the way they have been done due to this - I did think they would roll down and be more taut in a channel that held them snugly.

The edge will come out of the channel. Sorry I didn't mention this before. Would you suggest anything knowing this? It would be a bit fiddlly but I'd give it a go!

You are correct when you say it isn't fraying yet. The threads there now are just from cutting but I do worry that they will fray, thus impact on the look as well as their effectiveness.

Thank you,

Carole

MitchellMc · Answer

Hi @cassy1,

Has this only recently started happening, or is there a chance it’s been like this since installation?

Typically, when shade cloth is installed into side channels like this, the edges are folded and hemmed rather than left raw. That hem sits inside the channel and is what allows the installer to properly tension the blind otherwise it would just pull out under load. Because of that, the actual cut edge should be hidden well inside and protected.

From what you’ve shown, it doesn’t look like true fraying of the edge itself. It’s more likely what you’re seeing are loose fibres that have worked their way out or been caught on the outer edge of the channel. It’s similar to clothing seams where you sometimes get a few stray threads poking out, even though the hem is intact. In some cases, they can even just be detached fibres that have snagged there.

Given the edge is inside the channel, there’s unfortunately not really a practical way to apply a sealing product or treatment directly to the hem anyway.

If it’s bothering you, the simplest approach would be to carefully trim the loose fibres and then just keep an eye on it. At this stage, it doesn’t necessarily indicate that the cloth is actually fraying or failing.

If you do start to see the fabric pulling apart or the edge coming loose from the channel, then it would be worth reaching out to the installer or manufacturer, but from what you’ve shown so far, it looks fairly normal.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell