I cut my strips at 5 1/2" and placed them on the 5" sq die, and alot (most) of them came up short on one side. What did I do wrong and has this happened to anyone else? I'm trying to make a twister, so I am just going to cut them sq and go from there. I hate to waste all that fabric. I should have checked them while I was cutting.

What did you use to cut the strips? I have cut thousands of strips with my Accuquuilt Studio and they have always been precise.

I used my ruler. I've never had a problem before. I cut 2 1/2" strips on the go all the time, and have no problems.

Get a sharpie marker, use a metallic one if the foam is dark. Mark all around the blades, . I extend the blade lines beyond the blades, all the way to the edge of the die. Now you can quickly see if your fabric is placed correctly.
Next, make sure that you don't move the fabric when you put the plastic cutting mat down. Make sure you don't slide the mat if it's not placed correctly. Pick it up, move it, and place it carefully.
Finally, even though you can cut many layers of fabric doesn't mean that you should! I have a Studio cutter and don't cut more than 4 layers at a time.

I wonder if the fabric itself was a little "wonky" to begin with. Could it have flattened out a bit under your ruler and then distorted??? I'm sorry you're having troubles.

I'm thinking that that was the problem, but I only cut 4 layers at a time. I do have the die marked with a sharpie. Just disappointed.

I have noticed that I have to make sure my fabric doesn't shift when I put the mat on...also make sure your fabric clears the blades...I've goofed quite a number of times.

tips with the twister: don't get frustrated and make too long of cuts, rock your rotary cutter to begin cutting, have your mat on a surface that you can easily either rotate or you can physically go around. I have saved my twister castoffs for future use. There is supposed to be a new tool coming out to use those scraps but the squares are easy to cut without a tool.