Originally Posted by
K-Roll
Question- when do you all cut your selvedges off? Do you cut them off the whole yardage or cut them off when you're cutting a certain amount for piecing?
I never have a selvedge 'string' - just lots of little lengths, example, I need 6" squares so I will cut a piece WOF and then, trim off a 6" selvedge on both ends. Maybe I should be trimming them off the entire yardage from the start? Does it matter, is my real question.
What I do - and why -
I wash my fabrics before cutting them - and when I iron/press them, sometimes the selvage has shrunk a lot.
If it has, I snip the selvage so that the edges lay flat.
I do not cut the selvages off ahead of time - what if i want to know who the manufacturer was (if it's shown - not all fabrics have that info on them)?
If I do have to cut off a selvage, I cut off the "plain" one -
I pretty much do it like you do - the selvage gets lopped off as the fabric is used. I also like to keep the selvages on for as long as possible to minimize fraying - at least on the edges that still have the selvages.
I try to avoid using any of the selvage in the item itself - especially if it has shrunk.
The exceptions might be for some garment sewing.