Selvage Quilts

Don't throw away your selvages, they are a hot commodity around quilters today. Yep those edges that we have been told to cut away for years are not being sought by quilters around the world. In fact some of the fabric manufactures have caught on and are now selling bag fulls of these little treasures.


What makes them so special? Their unique labeling and colors is what I find attractive. If you look at the selvages, you will see things like the manufactures name, the colored dots or squares for the dyes used in the making of the fabric, even date and location it was made. Talk about a historians dream!

How do I use them?
Simply cut off no less than 1.5 inches but better if you can spare 2.5 inches (this shows a bit of the fabric too, and sew them to a foundation. Simple flip and sew the selvages to the foundation. I use muslin, it is cheap and not as stiff as paper. But use what you're comfortable with.

Make squares in any size you like. Once you have a stack of blocks you can make a quilt. The blocks can be cut up and joined with other selvage blocks, or sewn to other fabrics. You can mix and match with traditional blocks or solid blocks. The idea is be creative and see how much fun these are to make.

The best part is you are doing a great service by using selvages up. (This keeps them from rotting in landfills!) A RECYCLERS DREAM QUILT!

By the way, here are a few resources for inspiration:

Sewn

The selvage blog

Quilting Weekly (has two selvage classes now) 1 is titled "Go Green with Selvage Quilts" and contains 4 projects including 2 quilts in one class. The second one is making a lovely tote bag "Raking Leaves" These are a real bargain for the money.