Selvedge

[Zipporah Schumaker]

The edge of cloth which is woven in such a manner as to
prevent raveling.

[Vania]

Selvage and selvedge mean exactly the same thing - different companies spell it differently and there apparently is no right way to spell it. It comes from the phrase self-edge which refers to the edge being finished by the [loom] instead of sewn together after [weaving]. thanks Geowu. Selvage is the term commonly used to refer to denim that has been produced on a [shuttle] loom. Since the amount of fabric produced from a shuttle loom is significantly narrower than a projectile (wide) loom, the cotton consumption is higher and the time required is greater. In selvage jeans, you will see the actual edge of the fabric where the weaving stops and is finished by the loom, as opposed to denim [woven] on a projectile loom, where the fabric has been cut off at the ends. The [redline] selvage is [Levis] signature and was used in all their jeans up to 1982, before Cone Mills [nixed] them for the more modern projectile [looms], which are faster and much more efficient.

[Sonia]

An edge produced on woven fabric during manufacture that prevents it from unravelling.