Fringed selvedge

**Twrecks911** · 5th August 18, 04:45 AM

I am making a PV kilt and it came with a fringed selvedge. What do I do about it? How do I make the bottom of the kilt look nice?

**Manu** · 5th August 18, 05:19 AM

You have two options. You can make a hem on the fabric before you start sewing, or you can leave the fringed selvedge as is. USA Kilts used to leave their PV kilts (they might still do, but I have not purchased a PV kilt in years) with that fringed selvedge, and it looked good.

**Dollander** · 5th August 18, 06:19 AM

Marton Mills only began including a selvage on their PV fabric fairly recently, so less popular tartans of which they still have older stock won't have it. But USA Kilts buys PV by the bolt, so all of their casual and semi-trad kilts have a selvage now.

I've made kilts and kilted skirts from seven different PV tartans, three of which did not have a selvage. So for those I folded and pressed the bottom edge in about half an inch, and only once, as doing it twice would result in a bulky hem. Since they were to be machine-sewn and thus have visible stitching at the fell and waistband, I simply used an ordinary straight stitch with the machine to secure it. However, if your kilt is to be hand-sewn, you'll probably want to use a blind hem...which someone else could probably explain better than I can.

**figheadair** · 5th August 18, 08:14 AM

Originally Posted by Twrecks911

I am making a PV kilt and it came with a fringed selvedge. What do I do about it? How do I make the bottom of the kilt look nice?

Fringed selvedge - although the term is used, it's a contradiction

Cloth can have a selvedge, a tuck edge (definitely not a selvedge) or a raw/unfinished edge. You cloth is the latter and is not intended for kilt making, hence your problem. An unfinished edge is normally hemmed if the cloth is to be worn, for example; as a skirt. You could try hemming it but the bulk will probably affect the hang of the pleats if you do. Start again with a different length of cloth?

**BertMcG** · 5th August 18, 05:05 PM

Originally Posted by Twrecks911

I am making a PV kilt and it came with a fringed selvedge. What do I do about it? How do I make the bottom of the kilt look nice?

Technically it is a selvedge which is an edge produced on woven fabric during manufacture that prevents it from unraveling, not one that's ideal for a kilt though. Having said that I have at least 10 kilts I've made from the Marton Mills P/V with that type of edge.
Here is the selvedge prior to hemming

And after hemming

It was machine sewn and unless you're examining it from a few inches you can't tell, also the material is relatively light so the hem isn't bulky

**figheadair** · 5th August 18, 10:12 PM

Originally Posted by BertMcG

Technically it is a selvedge which is an edge produced on woven fabric during manufacture that prevents it from unraveling, not one that's ideal for a kilt though.

I have to disagree. Technically, it's not a self-edge. Traditional selvedge decoration on tartan cloth

**Tarheel** · 6th August 18, 04:02 AM

I see two edges in the photo Bert posted. One is caused by pinking shears and one appears to a manufactured edge with a hem.

Which is the focus of the thread?

Here is a photo of my pinking shears.

Just for clarity.

**Twrecks911** · 6th August 18, 04:25 AM

Mine is a Maron Mills PC, and I find the fringed selvedge not to my liking. I am going to put in a hem. Ideally, I not what I want, but I don't really think it will be anything someone would even notice or care about unless they were inspecting it up close.

**Steve Ashton** · 6th August 18, 02:59 PM

I was fortunate to be able to tour the Marton Mills plant during my business trip in 2009. I had been buying wool and P/V fabric from them for over 5 years by then and while the wool always arrived with a tuck selvedge, whether the P/V arrived with a tuck selvedge or a fringe selvedge seemed to be random.

As you can imagine, I was just a little upset when a custom run of the X Marks Tartan arrived with the fringe and over 100 meters of double width fabric needed to be serged, pressed and hemmed.

What I found during my visit was that the looms on one side of the room produce the tuck selvedge and the looms on the other side of the room produce the fringe selvedge.
You have to remember that Marton Mills are primarily a weaver of fabrics for uniforms and academic wear. The Tartans they weave are used most for school uniforms and things like golf trousers where a tuck selvedge is not necessary.
It just depends on the the weaving schedule which side of the room the P/V fabric is woven on.

As I began to order more and more fabric and more and more custom runs, I was able to specify a tuck selvedge on the P/V orders. They create the weaving schedule months in advance so I have never had a delay.

Here is the head on one of the fringe looms cutting the fringe selvedge.

This fringed edge is a self-edge by definition just as a tuck edge is. It is a finished woven edge which does not unravel.

But Peter is right that a tuck or a fringe is less preferable to a true shuttle loom selvedge. There just are not many shuttle looms left in large production operations anymore. Although some larger mills are now installing true shuttle selvedge looms now that kilts are becoming big business and it is again economically advantageous.

I have heard that one weaver now has looms which can produce either a single width with a true selvedge on one end or, if warped as "double weave", can produce double-width fabric with a true selvedge on both edges.