Pop Quiz: Why do knits get larger pt.3

selvage_bumps
Above you can see the photo Kay sent me of damaged knits Stuart described in comments from part one (also see part two). Stuart said:

Cheaper quality polyester or polyamide micro fibers also expand when warmed and don’t return to their original length on cooling. Simply sitting in the back of a delivery truck in the sun for a few hours can literally destroy a synthetic when under tension on a roll. You can tell it’s happened when you see puckers every few inches closer to the selvage and it takes stretching the roll to alleviate the puckers (ie; selvage length is different to center length) … you can save the roll only by allowing it to relax and discard the section on each selvage and the first 10 meters or so of the roll (any part that’s puckered after relaxing) – This happens way more than you think it does. Avoid cheap fabrics!

Kay says she knew the fabric was defective when she bought it last year but intended to use it for practice garments knowing she’d need to trim off the selvages. These selvages are very dramatic, looking more like scalloped edging than anything. This is something to keep in mind if you buy fabrics with prices that seem to good to be true.

Thanks Kay!

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