Prism99

It actually is not terribly important for quilting that the fabric pieces be cut exactly on-grain. Fabric that is not pre-washed, or fabric that is pre-washed and then starched before cutting, can hold up pretty well to the sewing/ironing/quilting process without stretching out of shape. You do not want to cut on the bias, of course, if you can help it; however, cutting partially off-grain is likely to be a problem only with pre-washed, unstarched fabric.

Cutting on-grain for clothing has always been more important because the fabric is not stabilized by the quilting through three layers. Grainline in clothing greatly affects the drape of the fabric over the body, side seams can skew if the grainline is off, and hems can sag.

Bias cut edges require more delicate handling by the quilter, but they do not affect the finished quilt as long as they are not stretched out of shape during the construction process. Stretching can be largely prevented with heavy starching and careful handling.

olmphoto2

Thanks gals for this wonderful memory! My Grandmother used to work in notions at a department store in the 1950's when I was a kid. I believe there was extra always provided before the notch was cut in the folded portion of the fabric so that the tear then went simultaneously toward both selvages.

[Remember the tubes that took money and then brought back receipts? Slupp...wishk! :D]

To prevent raveling, snip just a small corner in each selvage by the cut.

I do like to tear lengths for borders. Borders are much better made from lengths for a number of reasons. When I have to sew a border from a width for whatever reason---well, it can get purty ugly 'round here dealing with the distortion possible in that that process! ;-)

When I do tear the length of the fabric for borders, I make them wider than I need and cut off the distorted edges, which is very easy to do at that point. The secret is in generously planning for this in advance.