Save the Selvages!

Okay, so I've been pretty good about posting crafty things (and by that I mean once).  "What about the thrifty?" you ask.  Well, here ya go.  I attended a crafty night at Mama Said Sew, an awesome little fabric store in Old Town in Fort Collins.  The theme for the night was using selvages. 

For those not familiar with the fabric-y term, here is how Merriam-Webster defines the word:

a : the edge on either side of a woven or flat-knitted fabric so finished as to prevent raveling; specifically : a narrow border often of different or heavier threads than the fabric and sometimes in a different weave

b : an edge (as of fabric or paper) meant to be cut off and discarded

Definition a : I totally agree. 

Definition b : No way Jose!

We took all the saved selvage strips and sewed them onto muslin.  Basically you use the next piece of selvage to cover the raw edge of the previous piece.  I turned mine into a pillow. 

Here is the back. 

I even found a piece with my maiden name on it.  Sweet!

Now I'm hooked on the selvage saving fun.  My next endeavor is to make a whole quilt out of them. It's a bonus for me that I work at a sewing store with access to selvagey goodness. Give it a try yourself, you'll never look at a selvage the same way again.