selvage edge

A selvage is the tightly woven edge of a fabric. It prevents the side edges of the fabric from raveling or fraying.

What does cut on the selvage mean?

When the fabric is measured, it is cut from the bolt by cutting perpendicular to the edge of the material leaving the selvage alongside each side of the cut fabric.

What is the function of selvage?

Purpose of selvedge is to secure the fabric from fraying out the warp yarns from fabric.

What does selvage look like?

In some areas of the cloth, selvages may look exactly like the rest of the fabric, but they are thicker and more tightly woven. Some selvage edges are wide and a totally different color than the fabric (pictured). Selvages nearly always include little dots that show us the colors that are included in the fabric.

What is the right side of fabric when sewing?

Right side: When instructions mention the “right side” of fabric, they are talking about the “printed” or “pretty” surface of the fabric. You usually sew things with right sides together so the stitching will be on the inside of the finished project.

Does width of fabric include selvage?

The usable width of your fabric is the measurement between the warp thread on the left edge to the warp thread on the right edge, minus any selvage.

What is the finished edge of fabric called?

A selvage (US English) or selvedge (British English) is a “self-finished” edge of a piece of fabric which keeps it from unraveling and fraying.

Is the selvage edge always straight?

And generally, selvage edges are always straight. It is important to find the grainline for your fabric. Grainline is the direction of threads running parallel to selvages. In different words, grainline is the lengthwise direction of the piece of the fabric.

What part of pattern pieces should be lay out first on the fabric?

Pressing. Press your tissue pattern pieces before you lay them on your fabric. Your pattern pieces will have creases in them from being folded in an envelope. If you put your iron on a low setting, you can safely press the creases out without damaging your pattern pieces.

Should I always cut the selvage off?

The selvage edges of fabric are sometimes printed, as in this example, and sometimes not as in most batiks. Nevertheless, you should cut them off and not use them in your patchwork piecing. They don’t always press flat, and they often pucker and tighten when washed, meaning what they are sewn to doesn’t lay flat.

How much of the selvage should be cut off?

You want to cut about 1-2″ from the edge so you can see the selvage and a piece of its pretty fabric. This will make any selvage-centric project, like a strippy selvage block, more colorful.

Can I use the selvage as a hem?

A pretty selvage can be used to create a border-like effect at a skirt hem. Cut the skirt sections on the fabric’s cross-grain with the hem allowance edge on the fabric selvage. The hem must be straight—shaped hems won’t work.

What are the types of selvages?

Tucked-In Selvedges:

The tucked selvedge is a technique used on some shuttle-less looms. A device is used to tuck and hold the cut ends into the fabric edge. In tucked-in selvedge, the fringed edges of the weft yarns are woven back into the body of the fabric using a special tuck-in mechanism.

Why is the grain line important?

Grainline is essentially the weave of the fabric: which direction the threads are running. It’s important to understand because how you cut out a garment will change how the finished garment behaves.

When laying out your fabric What should always be parallel to the selvage?

1. Place each pattern piece so the grainline arrow runs lengthwise on the fabric. Grainline arrows should run parallel to the selvage edges regardless of the way the fabric has been folded.