my question is..

sometimes they are not printed "straight" which makes them off grain - do I cut them on the grain and not worry that they will be crooked or do I follow them and not pay attention to the grain?

I was always told to cut them on grain no matter how the print is because it makes the quilt more ineresting. That being said....the dressmaker in me wants the plaids and stripes and ginghams straight with the lines in the print. I know I am of no help for you at all. Sorry!

I will only buy these in person... I roll them out and check to see if they are straight before I buy them, and do not prewash them either LOL

If you already have them, you can try stretching the fabric on the bias to straighten them out. This is old school technique that we were taught in Home Ec :wink:

If the pieces are fairly small, I would cut them so they look straight. If you are talking large squares or borders, I would probably cut them on the straight of grain. :D:D:D

Wow, I totally agree! I only buy these in person. I learned the same thing in Home Ec and do it to this day!! I won't use them in a quilt unless they are printed straight on the grain. LOL

Gosh... I'm so with you. I WANT to make it match and it frustrates the heck out of me when it won't. In fact... to date... I have not used ANY plaids in my quilts because I rip it out!

But that's changing. I saw a picture of a Thimbleberries quilt using plaids..and it was uneven... in the BOOK! I mean... if Lynette lets it be 'off'... who the heck am I to quibble over it??? LOL!!!! I've got a WIP going... been cutting out on, almost ready to piece, that's got 3 different plaids in it (about 15 different fabrics in a pieced, picture type wallhanging of a seaside town). Wish me luck...the plaids are not borders.

I think if it's large pieces or borders, I'll STILL want it to be straight. I'm just saying....

i dont use them much but i would cut on grain