I wrote this tutorial back in 2008 and thought that I should share this trick for weaving nice selvages on narrow woven bands, whether inkle or tablet with all of you. I was shown this method by a good friend and it instantly improved the look of my woven products.
The trick is leaving a loop of weft thread outside the band and not pulling the weft tight until you’ve beat the next shed. This works with any kind of narrow weave. I used it with card weaving as well.
Here is a series of photos that demonstrates the method. Please write me if you have any questions.
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- Starting point – This is the starting point. The weft is passing from left to right and is just laying in the closed shed. I’ve left a loop of weft thread on the left side.
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- Changing sheds – Here I have changed sheds and I am beating the weft closed. Note the weft loop is still on the left side of the band.
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- Pulling taut – Using my beater to stabilize the band, I am pulling the weft thread to the right.
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- Pulled. – I pull until the new weft thread is even with the left side. If you pull too tight, the side will dimple inward. If you don’t pull tight enough, you’ll see space between the side warp threads.
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- End point – After pulling the previous weft thread tight, I lay the next weft thread in the shed going the opposite direction, right to left, leaving a loop of weft thread on the right side of the band.
Very useful. Thanks for the tutorial and the photos. It does improve the selvedges!