Depicts the sewing of blanket selvages / edges within a mill, c.1950s. Part of a series of photos depicting the various operations within a textile mill, all of which have been edited for publication.textile mills - operation, dry finishing, selvaging

Any faults in the final product can be repaired by mending. Prior to more advanced machinery, fabric was draped over a mending table and carefully inspected for faults. Quick eyes and nimble fingers were needed. Repairing faults was a highly skilled manual operation. Any knot or thickness had to be removed without affecting the quality of the fabric and mending had to be invisible. In the 1930s to make the day pass faster, popular records were played to the factory workers in the mending room. The top of the table is propped up to make it a well-lit surface over which bolts of fabric were unrolled to check for faults. Menders repaired them with invisible hand stitching. Each weaver stitched a coloured thread in the selvage to show the start of their shift, therefore if mistakes were found the company could easily find who was responsible. This table was used by Gail Morris in teh 1960s. Large wooden table with tilted top. mending table, wool processing, fabric, textile industry