Thread: Go! Fabric Cutter - Questions about Accu Quilt

Just used my Accuquilt today and I am so pleased! I cut out a quilt for a niece who is expecting; but I also cut out an identical one and bagged it for some other time. I haven't made more than one of a quilt before, but I need to do something to dwindle my stash -- some of my fabrics have been around here for years. I hoping that this system will work out for me. I put all of the fabrics for the "sometime later quilt" in a clear bag, along with a copy of the pattern so it is ready to go whenever I am. Makes a nice looking pre-cut quilt kit. I also used my lint roller in between cuts to quickly clear die of thread left behind after the cut and used a tweezer to get the threads that really got stuck.

I have trouble cutting much at a time as I have arthritis in both hands. Had thought of asking for the Go for Christmas until I learned you have to hand crank it. Did I mention tendinitis in my elbow as well? Makes me wince just to think of it! So how hard are they to crank? Are there any that use electricity instead? I have lots of that available!

I use mine a lot but they are expensive to maintain.

I am a scrappy quilter and I love my Go cutter. I have quite a few dies and share my dies with some friends in return for using their dies. I use my strip cutters, esp the 2.5 and 2 inch ones, very regularly. My trade is as a medical typist and I could tell my elbows were going to pack up if I continued to type all day and spend copious time cutting scraps as well.

I use a lot of kits and I would like to use my Go cutter, but I am afraid that I will mess up and not have enough fabric. How do you take this into consideration when cutting? Another problem I have is cutting strips. I have the strip cutters that I use the most, but when cutting a lot of strips, do you cut your fabric into specific sizes to use it? I don't know what to do with the extra fabric that is hanging on when cutting just a few layers, and I am afraid that if I cut it into pieces I will not have enough fabric. Thanks for any ideas and suggestions.