Selvage and Paper

 Ever thought about sewing selvages onto something made of paper?

 It's a quick and easy project. A half dozen selvage decorated cards would make a nice gift for a friend. Start by gluing a selvage to the front of the card with the ends extending past the paper edges.

 I like to use my walking foot and a #12 needle to sew the selvage to the card.

Continue layering the selvage and stitching down, folding under the last one before sewing it down to create a finished edge.

 Trim the selvages even with the card...

 refold and enjoy your one-of-a-kind card! 

 Another quick paper project is to stitch selvage onto a tag-board booklet cover.

 Fold under the raw edges before you stitch. These make great little "somethings" to slip into a birthday or get well card.

Stray cards need not stay neglected.

 With a little trimming, a paper punch...

 and a few cute selvages...

 you will quickly have some very special gift tags! (For the green tag, I just  glued on the selvages rather than sewing them down.)

 This stray Christmas card...

will soon decorate a gift for my little grand daughter's first birthday.

 And speaking of gifts, here's a fun no-sew idea...

Just glue color-coordinated selvages to the front of a plain gift bag. A little press with a hot iron will help seal them down. 

Well, this ends my week long focus on that extra inch of fabric that many quilters just throw away. 

I did the math and based on $11 per yard fabric, that one inch wide strip of selvage costs you 25 cents. Now, that's worth saving, don't you agree!