Originally Posted by Bluelady
The selvage will shrink at such a different rate than the rest of the fabric, that it can cause problems after the quilt is washed a few times. It will make it wrinkle and pucker oddly.
I agree with Jana. If you have ever seen an older quilt that draws up at a seam it's because the selvage was left on. I've seen it mainly on quilt backings. You will see the seam looking almost like there is a draw string pulling it.