Selvages

I'll do it, but I don't collect them very fast.

Karen, Queen of Squishies I didn't follow your directions did I.........

LOL that's ok. Just wanted it sent seperate so as not to tie the site up and also so I will be sure to see it.

GrammyKathy

will try, Gram!

amy in CNY

Do you use the selvages in some creative way? PAT, curious in Virginia

As soon as I can get enough that are at least and 1 1/2" wide. Here is the site

What an interesting website! I've bookmarked it for future reference. Some of those articles in the gallery are really terrific - a cushion cover my studio sounds a good project!

Cheers Bronnie, off to cut some selvages of my stash......

I'll have to take a very careful look at that over my long weekend! Amazing!

Thank you!

OK, now I want to know:

How many of you normally cut of your selvages before cutting strips?

I actually _never_ do this. I cut my strips across the fabric grain and then my first sub-cut is to take of the selvages.

If I'm not cutting strips, then all bets are off. But I always do remove the selvages before sewing.

Hanne in London

Same here, most of the time. Once in a while, I have a fabric whose selvage seems unusually tight and the fabric won't lay flat until the selvage is taken off, so I do cut those off, but only about 1/2" on either side, so I keep as much usable fabric as possible. If you take off 1-1/2" on either side of 42" fabric, you end up with 39" fabric -- that could seriously affect whether you have enough for your project.

Julia in MN

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Me too.

I rip the selvage off. The ripped edge lets me know I'm on the straight of grain. I cut the ripped edge off with my rotary cutter.

--Lia

Hanne,

For this ANY length will work from real short to long. Subcutting would be fine with me. I don't usually cut off the sleveges first either.

GrammyKathy

me too, I only remove a selvage if I'm cutting a border length of grain rather than width.

Anne

I do this also. I keep the ripped off selvage edges and crochet into "rag" rugs. I have one at the door, in front of the sink and under my favourite chair etc. They wash really well, even adding a bit of bleach. Saves the carpets and catches spills etc.

The only time I cut selvages of are when I am doing backings. These are then used in the garden for tying up plants. I did learn this year that red is not a good colour for tying bushy tomatoes up.

Dee in Oz

If I'm not cutting strips, then all bets are off. But I always do remove the selvages before sewing. Hanne in London

Howdy!

I cut off the selvage, first. Makes for a straighter cut when the fabric lies flat w/out the selvages which tend to ripple. [Can't remember the last time I cut strips across the width of the fabric.] I've used the selvages for years, sometimes in crochet, or to make rag mats, or to tie a new tree to a long stake to keep it straight.

Running out of fabric because the selvages were removed? Not in this quilting world. There's always plenty or more of the fabric required by a pattern. ;-D

Btw, I usually cut off the unprinted selvage first, so the remaining fabric still carries the manufacturing info. There's one little quilt around here made of the printed selvages, "Something to Read". 8->

R/Sandy

I'm like you Hanne. I keep the selvages on and then my fabric doesn't fray in storage, and I know what it is and which way is straight of grain without pulling on it to test the stretch.

Lizzy