Abstract: A fringed selvage retainer operating device is incorporated into a shuttleless loom to operate a fringed selvage retainer for preventing the folding of free ends of weft yarns which form a fringed selvage of a fabric on the shuttleless loom on an arriving side of the shuttleless loom. The operating device also shifts the fringed selvage retainer between a working position where the fringed selvage retainer is placed during a weaving operation and a waiting position where the fringed selvage retainer is placed during a faulty weft yam extracting operation by an actuator. The fringed selvage retainer is separated from the fringed selvage and shifted to the waiting position so that a faulty weft yarn may not twine around or may not be caught by the fringed selvage retainer when extracting the faulty weft yarn from a shed formed by reversing the shuttleless loom.