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My rather measly collection of selvages... |
You'll likely guess correctly based on the title of this post, but
had you not been given that hint, that probably wouldn't have been your first
answer.
Surprisingly enough, I'm not jealous of the amount of choice these sewers have
when it comes time to make something. That might actually overwhelm me. But having access to all of those resulting selvage edges would be totally awesome.
With their bits of colour and text, it's almost like selvages were designed to be my kind of fabric.
When I picked up the sewing hobby again in late 2012, I didn't realize fabrics had designers and names. I'm not sure if I simply didn't notice selvages in my youth, but salvaging those little identifying strips of edge fabric has become a priority over the past few years.
When I picked up the sewing hobby again in late 2012, I didn't realize fabrics had designers and names. I'm not sure if I simply didn't notice selvages in my youth, but salvaging those little identifying strips of edge fabric has become a priority over the past few years.
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| Cut your selvages to include some actual fabric (and maybe leave a bit behind)... |
Of course, it's driven by the fact that so many people have created such amazing
things with them. (Do a search for "the selvage dress" and you'll see what I
consider the
epitome of selvage projects.) The uniqueness factor of the finished
result — no matter what it is — is very appealing.
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| Harvesting some selvages from a Lily and Loom collection... |
When selvage projects first caught my eye, I went to my scrap fabric box to
see if I could find any. Whatever pieces there were, however, had been cut
them to the very edge. Even though I had kept some, it had not been with the
realization that having a small strip of actual fabric showing enhanced their
appearance.
Lesson learned.
That said, I am seriously frugal with my fabric, so suggestions to leave up to
an inch and a half of the printed part intact with the selvage doesn't go over
well with me. With my latest selvages (the ones from
Lily and Loom pictured above), I left about 1/4".
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| My method of sewing together selvages... |
How wide you need to cut them depends on how you plan to join them together. If
you mean to sew actual seams between each one, you'll need the widest strips
you can afford; if you plan to overlap them and only sew over the raw edges,
you'll need at least a half inch.
My plan was to butt them up side by side and zigzag stitch them on top of some fusible interfacing.
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| As you can see, my first set of selvages were very closely trimmed... |
Because I wasn't doing the overlap method, I was able to turn some selvages in
the opposite direction, to produce a final fabric that's not strictly
directional.
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| Adding pieces of strips is easier if there's fusible interfacing underneath... |
The benefit of the fusible interfacing (I used Decor Bond, but
something lighter would suffice) is that even small pieces of selvage can be
put down without additional stitching.
Because there was so much white in this collection — due to my cutting the
selvages to the edge of the printed fabric — I decided to stitch with gray
thread.
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| Each strip zigzag stitched together... |
After stitching, I gave it a good press to activate the fusible interfacing,
and now I've got a one of a kind piece of selvage fabric.
In the weeks since this piece was constructed, I've arrived at a plan for what I'm going to do with it. Not ready to be revealed at the moment, but you'll likely see it here in the near future.
By the way, if you're wanting to harvest a bunch of selvage strips before using the fabric, you may want to keep a small part of the selvage intact (see second photo from the top) so that you can still identify the orientation of your fabric.
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| Closeup of zigzag stitching... |
This won't be an issue if your pieces are actual yardage (because you'll still
have the opposite edge to help you), but if you're harvesting from fat
quarters, you may not be able to sort out the grain line easily if you slice
away the entire selvage.
Have you come across a selvage project that's more intriguing than the dress? If so, let me know what it is.
Blogger — the platform on which I provide these scintillating posts to
you every week — is about to be affected by another of parent Google's
infrastructure changes. Without going into the tortuous technical details, the
process via which blog subscribers get their emails will be changing. The
official deadline to find an alternative solution is sometime in July, but I've
managed to get my ducks in order and will be switching over next week.
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| my ducks are in order... |
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While migrating my subscriber list to my new service provider, I discovered
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'Til next...
Can't wait for the future selvage project. I follow a sewing group on facebook that are rabid savers of all things scrap...fabric, thread, etc. They sew the odd shapes together or use some thread fluff to create art. All of it is beautiful and intriguing but not my choice for free time activities. I will admire your creativity here but am unlikely to recreate or collect a stash of bits to assemble. Until next week..K
ReplyDeleteI collect selvages in a box for a project that's a secret even to me! Google "scrappy selvage pillow" and "scrappy selvage skirt" for fun. Place mats would also be great. The possibilities are endless.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to know how your zig-zagged selvage fabric washes...if you do that!
I like the simple A-line skirt from runandsewquilts, and there are several fab pillows from various sources. I also found a slip cover for a sewing chair that was super cool! Plenty of inspiration for your collection of selvages, I'd say.
DeleteA placemat did occur to me, but the idea seemed rather pedestrian. Not to mention I'd then have your conundrum in having to wash it! (So no, what I made with my selvage fabric I do not intend to wash.)