Selvages: don't throw them away!
 

As my avatar name says: I am the Mother of 1000scraps! And so I even don't throw away the selvages! And as my box is well stocked I started to sew these scraps together not knowing yet what I may do with the "new" fabric!
Who else out there is gathering the selvages and can show what you sewed out of them?

I have several bags of selvedges but haven't make anything from them yet other than a few mug rugs over the years. I've seen jackets & skirts & lots of other things made from them. Can't wait to see the results from yours.

I've added selvedges to many many quilts that called for neutral strings, and I have an ongoing project with wider colored sides that doesn't know yet what it will be, so far just 6.5" blocks.
When my mother had dementia and lived with me I could never actually think, so I set up an old machine by her chair where she could see me and sewed strings by the 100's. those have gone into many projects too. a lot for sashings.

Pretty selvages!

I have a couple of bags but haven't put them together...yet.

Edit to add Question:

How much fabric do you leave on the selvage? Do you trim it down to the writing?

That's a great idea, mixing them in with your neutrals!

Here is a pin cushion, needle book and mug rug I made for the pincushion swap.

Just poured all of my salvages into a larger container yesterday so I could get them in one place. No idea of what to do with them but sewing them into random blocks seems like a way to start on that future project. I too was wondering how much "fabric" to leave. Looks like the trend is to do just the salvage with perhaps a smidge of color. Guess, like all things quilty.........It is an individual choice.

I cut my selvages 1.5" wide, leaving a good amount of color on them. The longer strips make great binding! I sometimes run out of a particular fabric in the middle of a project, and having the selvage helps me if I got to the LQS to get more. Here's a quilt I made last year.

I've never collected the selvages before, but I can see them used as a narrow piano key border.

I made a jacket with mine a few years ago as seen in my avatar. Then I quit saving them.