Longarm Basic: Trimming Selvage

Hey, all! As a longarmer and a pattern writer I get a decent amount of questions about trimming selvage when quilting so I wanted to take a moment to throw my two cents in on the topic. I think it’s important to preface this with the fact that there is some very solid, professional guidance out there on if and when to trim the selvage from your quilting cotton fabrics. I’m a professional, yes, but my thoughts in this post are based on my experience and observations vs hard core research and testing. With those disclaimers, let’s jump right in!

What is Selvage?

Selvage refers to the tightly woven edges of the fabric that run parallel to the lengthwise grain. These edges give the fabric stability and prevent fraying during and after the weaving process. Quilting cotton prints often have identifying information printed on the selvage such as the fabric collection, designer, and manufacturer. You can find where the selvage starts and stops on fabric by pulling a thread perpendicular to the selvage - where it stops unraveling is where the selvage begins.

When working with quilting fabric, whether or not to trim the selvage depends on the specific project and personal preference. In general, and when in doubt, it is a solid practice to leave the selvage on until you are ready to use it in a project. First, as mentioned above, selvage provides stability and prevents fraying from the fabric. Additionally, the information printed on the selvage may be an important resource when you begin your project. Often I’ve purchased a gorgeous fabric without an immediate project in mind. Once I figure out how to use it I reference the selvage to purchase more or to help guide me in finding coordinating fabrics. It may also be important to know which way the grain runs should you end up using the fabric for clothing or other projects where that information is necessary.

Standard Advice

In quilting, the standard advice is to trim the selvage when beginning a project, and for good reason. To produce an edge that is stable and doesn’t fray, the weave of the selvage is much tighter than the fabric itself. This weave often distorts the yardage, pulling it tight where the two meet, preventing it from laying flat and smooth. This can affect accuracy in measuring, cutting and sewing. The tightness of the weave can also be problematic when sewing and quilting. It can mess with needles, the timing of your machines and how nicely your project presses and lays.

And lastly, that difference in weave can mean a difference in how it shrinks during the washing and drying process, leading to distortion of the finished project. All of this may seem trivial when working with small pieces within a quilt top, but for larger pieces such as borders, sashing, or backings, these elements can become quite obvious and problematic.

Decorative Selvage

With that being said, there are occasions when you might choose not to trim the selvage. In the last handful of years, some of the more modern brands like Art Gallery Fabrics and Ruby Star Society have been producing fabric edges that are decorative and highly coveted to some quilters. This printing crosses over from the tighter weave of the selvage into the fabric itself and until you pull some threads, it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.

While I can’t tell you exactly how different the weave is, I can say I’ve found that there is significantly less distortion of the fabric and no significant difference in how it sews and presses. I’ve not kept accurate enough notes to make a formal observation on the shrinkage after washing and drying, but anecdotally I’ve not had any project stand out to me as problematic like I have with projects that leave in typical selvage. Because of all these elements, it has become trendy and much less risky to leave these edges on the fabrics and incorporate them as purposeful design elements in a quilt top or back.

Waiting to Trim

I also tend to wait to trim the selvage when I’m piecing backings from large pieces of yardage. I find those cuts of fabric to be very cumbersome to get up on my cutting table and cut straight. Since I want a nice straight edge for piecing, I’ve had better luck leaving the selvage on and using it as my guide while I sew backing pieces together. When I do this I make sure to give myself a nice wide seam allowance, at least an inch, to avoid that space where the selvage may still be distorting the fabric. Once it is pieced, I can more easily trim it without the pressure of a perfectly straight edge.

As a longarmer, my preference on what I want to see you do can be a little different than my advice as one quilter to another. What becomes most important to the longarming process is having a backing and quilt top that lays as flat and smooth as possible once it is loaded onto the machine. For the quilt top, I say do whatever you prefer as long as it results in a smooth top with as-flat-as-possible junctions and points. Untrimmed selvage can cause seams and points to be extra thick and distorted fabrics that result in extra fabric in the top increasing the chances of puckers or pinches during the quilting process. This usually means following the traditional advice mentioned earlier in the post.

For the backings, I have stronger, more particular preferences. In situations where you are using large pieces of quilting cotton yardage for your backing, I recommend an if-then evaluation. If your selvage is significantly tighter than your fabric and prevents if from laying flat, causing puckering or curving, then trim it both from any inside seams as well as from the edges of the backing. Take care to trim those outside edges straight for the best results when loading onto the machine. If your selvage does not visibly distort the fabric when you lay it all out flat, then I recommend trimming it from any interior seams but NOT trimming it from the edges of the backing. This ensures a straight edge as well as additional stability from unnecessary stretching when attaching to the machine.

Things beyond quilting cottons

Let’s keep in mind that all of the information above focuses on traditional quilting cottons. There are many other substrates out there used in quilting and they will each need to be evaluated differently. Minky, fleece, flannel, wovens, sheets…. We have some additional information listed in our Backing FAQs to help guide you on the more common types of fabric we see.

Between the basic information provided here and all the resources out there ready to be Googled, it shouldn’t be too hard to decide how to handle your fabric’s edges. Enjoy, good luck, and happy sewing!