A Slew of Selvages

People make a lot of things out of selvages, which are the printed edges of fabric; here's my new #1 favorite selvage project:  A cape, http://designerann.blogspot.com/2012/08/selvage-sun-cape.html, made by quilter Ann Ruthsdottir. She calls it a "sun cape", I assume because she wouldn't want to wear it in the rain! So imaginative!

Other interesting selvage projects found around the web include:

• A serene selvage quilt, reminiscent of Amish design, at http://featheredfibers.wordpress.com/2009/02/22/selvage-quilt-wip-mini-tutorial/; with of course, a matching selvage chicken...!

• An Amy Butler Selvage tote bag: http://www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures/2009/06/selvage-obsession-giveaway/

• An "I [Heart] Selvages" quilt with interesting piecing and a way-out-of-the-box latticework: http://quispamsisquilter.blogspot.com/2011/02/i-heart-selvage-quilting-progress.html. Quilter Riel Nason also offers several very cool selvage tutorials, including people and snowflakes, at http://quispamsisquilter.blogspot.com/p/tutorials.html. 
• A whole blog about selvage projects (and other stuff), at http://selvageblog.blogspot.com/.  I especially like the  parasol: http://selvageblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/jodie-carletons-selvage-parasol.html. And the tutorial for a 'red zinger' selvage quilt:  http://selvageblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-to-make-red-zinger.html. 

Have you worked with selvages? I've used them to crochet with, but haven't made any multi-selvage piecing projects yet.

One of the things that makes the above and other selvage projects wonderful - something I haven't been doing in the past, but will in the future - is that the makers cut off a quarter to a half an inch of the actual fabric design, along with the narrow printed white part. That additional sliver of color and design makes these projects infinitely more interesting. They're not only more colorful, but that sliver brings the viewer in close, to read the title of the fabric, the designer, and/or the year, and see what the fabric actually looked like. That's pretty close to an ecstatic experience for fabric-a-holics like myself.