Thread: cutting strips

Originally Posted by gollytwo

The June Taylor Shape Cut Ruler that Prism99 recommended is a really useful tool to own

That is what I use. I love, love, love it. It is a real time saver and my cuts are always straight.

Yes, I love this too, but make sure your blade is really sharp!!!!!

Originally Posted by gollytwo

The June Taylor Shape Cut Ruler that Prism99 recommended is a really useful tool to own

Me, too. but it took a lot of practice to be able to do it! I also sprayed the back of my ruler with basting spray so that it 'grips' the fabric and doesn't shift. At first the back of the ruler was too sticky, but after a little gentle buffing with a scrap of fabric, the 'sticky' is now perfect.

I have the slotted rulers, use them occasionally, too, but not for cutting strips.

Originally Posted by Jingle

For most strips I use my 24" ruler. I line a square ruler up to the fold onmy right and the long ruler up against the side of the square one and make my first cut to get it straight. Then I cut the strips I want and even up again every two or three cuts, this keeps them straight.

This is what I do...no problem.

You lost me here. I assume that you are right handed..??...so you are cutting with your right hand. How can the square ruler be on your right? Isn't the fold at the top or bottom? SORRY to be so dense about this.

Originally Posted by Jingle

For most strips I use my 24" ruler. I line a square ruler up to the fold onmy right and the long ruler up against the side of the square one and make my first cut to get it straight. Then I cut the strips I want and even up again every two or three cuts, this keeps them straight.

The instructor in the class I took earlier this year said today's fabrics are straight enough to not worry about it, but I've found differently. Out of a hundred or so pieces of fabric I've bought in the past six months, only ONE of them was cut on the grain!

I've found that even the very best quilt shop fabrics are not cut on the straight of the grain, so EVERY piece I buy goes directly into the washer and dryer before I do anything else. EVERY piece! Some are off as much as a couple of inches, while others are off by fractions, but still...they are ALL off.

AND, what IF you don't wash and dry them and they shrink after your quilt is all beautifully done if you haven't heavily quilted it? I shudder to think of what the outcome would be and I don't want my quilts to look puckered up after all that work.

Originally Posted by Helen S

The instructor in the class I took earlier this year said today's fabrics are straight enough to not worry about it, but I've found differently. Out of a hundred or so pieces of fabric I've bought in the past six months, only ONE of them was cut on the grain!

I've found that even the very best quilt shop fabrics are not cut on the straight of the grain, so EVERY piece I buy goes directly into the washer and dryer before I do anything else. EVERY piece! Some are off as much as a couple of inches, while others are off by fractions, but still...they are ALL off.

AND, what IF you don't wash and dry them and they shrink after your quilt is all beautifully done if you haven't heavily quilted it? I shudder to think of what the outcome would be and I don't want my quilts to look puckered up after all that work.

I agree with Helen S wholeheartedly. Now, I personally like the crinkly look, so that part's okay. But today's fabric being on the straight of grain - not on your life.

Pulling threads to find straight with quilting cottons is just torturous. And that's how I learned to get to straight edges as well. I'll do it home dec fabs but not quilting cotton. I pre-wash / dry / iron with starch and refold. Then use my 24 in. ruler and go for the gusto. My feeling is that my piecing is not accurate enough to have the 2-3 threads that may not be straight to be a factor.