Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do you spell it, selvage or selvedge?
Both spellings are accepted. But to get to this site, remember “age” (not “edge”).
2. What is the best way to cut selvages?
Cut with scissors or a rotary cutter; don’t tear the fabric. Neatness does not count, speed is better. Cut your strips about 1 ½ inches wide so that some of the colored fabric next to the white stripe shows. That will make the quilt more interesting and colorful. Also, it will be easier to handle than a narrower strip.
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3. Should I cut a selvage that doesn’t have any writing on it or one that doesn’t have any white stripe?
Yes, I would cut them. You will have to trim them off later when you use the fabric in a quilt anyway. When you are piecing your selvage quilt you can make the decision about which ones to use depending on how many selvages you have to choose from and the effect that you want. When you want a selvage area to be dark, the ones that don’t have any white stripe are very useful.
4. How many selvages do I need to make a quilt?
That depends on how much writing and color window area you want to include. The more plain selvedges you use, the farther your selvage collection will go. But in general, by the time you have a squishy one gallon zip-lock bag of selvages you are definitely ready to make a medium sized (60” x 60) quilt.
If you run low on selvages, put the call out to your quilting buddies. Quilters are very generous and helpful people. You will get plenty of selvages!
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5. What are color windows?
Color windows are those little circles on the selvage. Each one is a different color, and represents a color used in the fabric. If a pattern contains five colors, there will be five color windows.
6. What are those little plus (+) symbols for?
Those are called registration marks, and they are used in the manufacturing process to help line up the pattern as each color is printed. Without the use of registration marks a red flower might float a distance from its green stem.
7. Do I need to use plain muslin for the foundations or can I use up ugly printed fabric for this purpose?
Use up the ugly fabric as long as the print doesn't show through the selvages.
8. What if the process of sewing the selvages to my foundation results in changing the size of my foundation a little bit?
Simply trim the block to the originally intended size. If you started with a 12 inch square, and it has morphed into something else, place your 12 inch square ruler on it and trim back to the desired size and shape.
You might even start with a 12 1/2 inch square, and plan on trimming it after applying the selvages. Muslin stretches a little more than fabrics with a tighter weave.
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9. Can you use selvages to make classic patterns like a Log Cabin quilt, an Amish style quilt, a Star quilt, or a Tree of Life quilt?
Yes! See the quilts in the book, “Quilts from the Selvage Edge.” You can do very interesting and artistic things with selvages. There is even a Tumbling Blocks quilt with a strong optical illusion! I love that one.
10. Is a selvage quilt washable?
Surprisingly, yes! I made a small selvage quilt to experiment on. First I washed it by hand and smoothed it out flat to dry. It came out slightly puckered like any washed quilt, but in very nice condition, still somewhat crisp. Then I tossed it into the washer and dryer with a normal load of laundry. The result was soft (no longer crisp) and more puckered, but still surprisingly very nice.
You can see photos of the quilt at each stage of this experiment in the book “Quilts from the Selvage Edge.”
If you wanted to, you could make a selvage utility quilt that would last a long time!
11. What are some of the more interesting selvages you have used?
I have used a selvage with Japanese writing on it. I have no idea what it says. One of my selvages was sent to me by a quilter in New Zealand, and it says New Zealand on it. Some are funny, like the one that says “Silk” and right next to that it says “100% cotton!” Go figure. Some have 18 color windows! That’s the maximum number, I believe.
12. Is it hard to quilt a selvage quilt?
No. I have machine quilted many selvage quilts with no problems at all. Because the quilt surface is so busy, the quilting doesn’t show up very much.
I have also “hand-quilted” a selvage quilt using Pearle cotton #5 and a large running stitch. The stitches are about ¼ inch long and it looks very pretty. The title of that quilt is “Remembering Silk Cigar Ribbon Quilts” and you can see it in the book. Also take a look at the very cool crocheted edge on that beautiful quilt! I am still doing my happy dance over that!
13. Why would anyone want to make a selvage quilt?
- Because it’s fun. You can enjoy your whole stash and not use any of it up! If you don’t like your creation, who cares? You were just going to throw the selvages away, anyway. It exercises our “creativity muscles.”
- The “Quilt Police” haven’t established any rules of decency in this category of quilt making, so you can do whatever you want. You can put your dinosaur selvage right next to your fancy Asian fabric if you want to.
- You will have a time capsule of your stash. In fact, many of the selvages have dates written on them so quilt historians will someday have an easy job of dating your masterpieces.
- Selvage quilts thrill the hearts of the X-treme Scrap Quilter! They are busy and beautiful. They are fun to read. You can astonish your quilting friends. They are dazzling conversation pieces used as throws, like crazy quilts or silk ribbon quilts.
- They are sturdy. Remember why we normally trim off the selvages? Because they don’t stretch like regular fabric. Selvages are tough! They will last and last.
- When you finish your selvage quilt, you can put a photo of it here on SelvageQuilts.com and show the whole world. How cool is that?
14. If I want to use these selvage workshops & patterns in a commercial venture, do I have to worry about being sued by the legal powerhouse at SelvageQuilts.com?
No, just do it. If you mention my book and/or link to this website, that would be great.
15. I am a fabric designer. Could I send you some selvages from my fabrics to use in future selvage quilts?
I would like that. Email me.
16. Do you plan to write a sequel?
Maybe. There are so many more quilts to make using selvages!
17. What if I grow to really love the look of selvages and I decide to make draperies, upholstered furniture, wall-coverings and more?
