Hi!
I am a fairly new weaver and have several books on weaving. From what I have read, I am somewhat confused on when to use a floating selvage. Could anybody simplify it for me?
Thanks!
Candace
Hi Candace,
The floating selvage is only necessary when the weaving, after about a half inch indicates that the selvage thread is not being caught into the weave. If you are weaving with fine threads, just remove that thread and continue weaving without a floating selvage. However, on a weave like goose eye, the thread may be caught when weaving one direction, but when the pattern reverses, it may not be caught. It is best to try to make a plain weave selvage so that the last thread is always caught into the weave. With fine threads, the selvage thread is simply ignored during weaving and can be trimmed away later when off the loom. Floating selvages are very popular right now and are sometimes used by weavers when they are not really needed.
Joanne
Hi Candace,
A separate subject is the confusion about the floating selvage. Sometimes there are recommendations for treating a selvage thread which is the result of a different problem. We sometimes see recommendations for weighting a selvage thread. But this is different from a floating selvage, which does not need to be weighted.
When one weaves on a small jack loom, the lower part of the shed can have less tension than the upper part of the shed. And the tension in general is less than on a larger loom or on a counterbalance or countermarch loom. So, one can have selvage problems due only to the small jack loom. When throwing the shuttle, for instance, the weft can easily pull in the selvage warp threads, especially if you use a plastic bobbin, which causes more pull on the weft. A weighted selvage thread is recommended to put more tension on the thread to make weaving easier. But this should not be confused with a floating selvage, which has a different purpose.
I was weaving some different twills for the first time and the left selvage thread was only being caught into the weave only every 4 or so picks. Should I use a floating selvage when I have this problem?
As Joanne has mentioned - on some patterns (twill blocks, multiple shuttle, reversing or large twill patterns) where the selvedge thread is not locked by the weft - you may want to use a floating selvedge. I personally dislike using them as it slows me down. I sample and try to put the selvedge thread on a shaft that will interlace, or if the yarn can accommodate a longer float I leave the selvedge as is and it looks fine after wet finishing. I very rarely use them although you may find them effective for your purposes. (I also noticed the different spelling - US = Selvage, UK = Selvedge?)
Dawn
bloominloom-dawnmccarthy.blogspot.com
Only if the appearance is not pleasing or if the floats will be used on an item that will cause them to catch. Depending on the yarn - a float of 4-5 picks is not usually an issue, longer than that may create loops that can catch.
Dawn
bloominloom-dawnmccarthy.blogspot.com
What Joanne and Dawn say.
The acceptable length of a float at the selvedge will depend on the thicknesss of your thread and how many ppi. If you are weaving 30 ppi, a 3 thread float is of no consequence, but might well be if you are weaving 8 epi.
Rather than use a large goose eye twill that allows the edge threads to drop out of the weave structure, I will weave a herringbone twill or arrange the twill order differently so that the thread will be woven in. Or like Joanne recommends, a really long float on a fine fabric can just be clipped out - but again that works better with finer threads and higher epi/ppi counts.
Ultimately whether you use a floating selvedge or not will depend on what you are doing and how important you think it is to have one. But they are not necessary all of the time in order to have a textile that is structurally sound.
cheers,
Laura
