A selvedge is a ‘self-finished’ edge on a piece of fabric. ‘The term “self-finished” means that the edge does not require additional finishing work, such as hem or bias tape, to prevent fraying”. A selvedge edge provides important information for buyers of cloth. As Edwin Woodhouse cloth was produced at Sunny Bank Mills, the selvedge edge attached often included the brand name, as well as the type of fabric, the quality, and where it was produced.
The information included on a selvedge edge can change based on the needs of the buyer of the fabric. For example, some designers may have bought their cloth from Edwin Woodhouse, but would request their company’s name on the selvedge edge. Because Edwin Woodhouse sold to a variety of designers and vendors with a multitude of needs, selvedge edges display different information. In the archive, we have several examples of selvedge that claim another company’s name, rather than Edwin Woodhouse. The selvedges below display the different designers’ names, but all keep the ‘made in England’ tag. This line was important for conveying quality, particularly in international markets.
The designer will normally remove the selvedge when making a garment. However, some designers have used selvedge as part of a finished garment (e.g. Coco Chanel incorporated it in many of her early designs). Some articles of clothing, like denim, may display the selvedge as a marker of a premium product: selvedge denim boasts higher quality fabric and closer attention to assembly. In these cases, the finished edge is shown off by those who wear these garments as a kind of fashionable signifier. If you know, you know!
Many makers use the selvedge edge as part of the finished garment, applying it as a decorative edge or even creating an entire garment out of collected selvedge edges, like the one below. You can read more about the skirt pictured here – it’s a great example of people using more sustainable methods to reduce waste in their projects and find creative solutions for excess fabric!
Tags
General Museum & Archive Arts & Culture