Liminal

 

lim·i·nal

/ˈlimənl/

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adjective

TECHNICAL

1. 1.

   relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process.
2. 2.

   occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold.

Weavers think a lot about selvedges.  Some of us actually obsess about them.  Are they perfect enough?  Are they straight enough?  Does every selvedge require a floating end in order to create that 'perfect straight' edge?

Other definitions are about ambiguity.  There doesn't seem to be much ambiguity about a selvedge.  It's very definite about being the end of the cloth, surely?

But if you consider that the term also relates to being at the edge of a boundary, is there anything more liminal that a selvedge?

At each edge the shuttle returns to the other side with each pass.  So the shuttle makes that transition from going one direction, then abruptly going the other in a process that takes the entirety of the warp to complete.

The more I think about ambiguity in weaving, the more I see it and coming across the term tonight as I began reading Victoria Finlay's new book Fabric, a few things began come together for me.  

Selvedges are not the only measure of the worthiness of a cloth.  It is what happens between the selvedges that is the important part of any cloth.  The selvedges just define the space of cloth/not cloth.

And yes, they must be crafted in such a way as to protect the cloth, to assist it in doing the job it is meant to do.  

What I have found is that if I pay attention to what I am doing to make the cloth as a whole, the selvedges tend to take care of themselves.  If my cloth has a 5 end float in the centre of it, without compromising the cloth's ability to do it's job, that five end float at the selvedge is not all that important.  It is not the number of ends in the float but the actual length.

In other words a five end float in a cloth that is 45 ends/picks per inch, the actual length of that float is much less than if there are 8 ends/picks per inch.  So I don't fret about how many ends are floating at the selvedge.  I don't force my selvedges to have a plain weave interlacement.  Plain weave will take up differently than other weave structures and can actually not improve the situation.  A floating selvedge is not necessary if you are weaving plain weave.  Unless you want one.

If you do, use them.  But sometimes I think weavers put way too much emphasis on things that are liminal - transitional - ambiguous.  

When I teach, I hope that I can convey to people all the different ways we can approach weaving.  How when you change one thing, everything can change.  How valuable it is to have multiple tools in your toolbox.  

And yes, pay attention to the details, but not at the expense of the whole cloth.

Give yourself the grace of being imperfect, but still worthy.  Still valuable.  Still functional.  Keep learning.  Keep trying.  Keep weaving, even when things aren't 'ideal' or 'perfect'.

Leonard Cohen said it 'best':  Forget your perfect offering.  There is a crack in everything.  That's how the light gets in.