Ask Madelyn: When Do I Need Floating Selvedges?

Hi Madelyn!

I‘m a relatively new weaver, and have a question about floating selvedges. I see the symbol for them in project drafts in Handwoven and other sources, but I am not sure why some drafts call for them and some don’t.

Also, some projects seem to mention weighting them and some don’t. And do I add them after I beam the warp, or include them as I‘m winding the warp itself?

—Sonia

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Hi Sonia!

Let’s begin with what floating selvedges are, and then we’ll dig into the details about where and how to use them.

What Floating Selvedges Do

Floating selvedges are warp ends, usually one on each side of the warp, that pass straight from the front beam to the back beam without being threaded through heddles. Depending on your type of loom, they always sit more or less in the middle of each opened shed, as the picture above shows.

The purpose of floating selvedges is to catch the weft in structures where the edge warp end is raised or lowered for more than one pick in a row—such as when you’re weaving twills. Without floating selvedges to wrap around, the weft would turn inside the last warp thread and result in messy edges.

They are unnecessary for plain weave or fabric with plain-weave selvedges, because those structures don‘t have raised or lowered warp ends for more than one pick in a row.

In drafts, floating selvedges are indicated by a small dot between the threading and tie-up, and another dot at the very end of the draft.

How They Work

Weaving. While you’re weaving with floating selvedges, the shuttle passes around them as it exits one shed and enters the next.

I find that the easiest way to do this is to always put the shuttle into the shed so it travels over the first floating selvedge, using the tip of the shuttle to nudge it down. Then, I always take the shuttle out of the shed from underneath the second floating selvedge while lifting it a bit with my catching hand so the shuttle passes under it. “In over, out under” is my mantra!

(I’ve heard that some weavers use “In under, out over,” which doesn’t work as well for me. But whatever your preferred order is, the important thing is that you do it the same way on every pick.)

Catching the shuttle, which travels over the floating selvedge on one side of the warp and under it on the other side.

Why Weight. Floating selvedges always need to be weighted. They do not take up as you weave the way the rest of the warp threads do, so without added weight they become looser and looser.

Beaming Them. I like to beam floating selvedges with the rest of the warp and then simply hang a 3" S-hook on each one to add weight, taking the hooks over the back beam so they can rest under the warp beam. As you weave they will stay put, and you will never have to think about them again.

Adding Later. If you add floating selvedges after beaming, you can tie a lark’s head knot connecting the S-hook to the floating selvedge near the floor, and undo and retie it closer to the floor when it reaches the back beam during weaving. Some weavers hang selvedge ends over the back beam in prescription drug bottles with coins inside for weights, but I find that opening a child-proof drug bottle and pulling out a length of thread every time I need to advance the weights is a most onerous task.

—Madelyn

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Watch Sara Bixler in a *brief video tip about floating selvedges—she suggests weighting them with items you probably already have kicking around in your studio.*

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If you have a weaving question please email Madelyn!

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Originally published Aug. 10, 2017; updated June 1, 2026