Originally Posted by
feline fanatic
I know a lot will gasp in horror, but when I square up wide fabric I tear it. I always prewash, then press, then tear to get my cut edges on straight of grain. Then I leave the whole piece as is and don't cut it down until I trim after quilting.
As long as you have good quality fabric, this is very likely the best method. If you bought your fabric at JAF/HL or if it is reproduction fabric, you probably want to fold & cut because I've found that the lower quality & loose-weave repro's end up really wonky when torn.
I have LQS by me that tears standard width fabrics. The Kona & Moda solids and new batiks turn out fine. The repro's end up as much as 1.5" off and then I lose even more when squaring up!
If you do fold your fabric, I recommend pressing with heavy starch (or Best Press) flat; then, fold the fabric as much as needed to work with your ruler (maybe draw three lines measuring into the fabric, then a straight line from top to bottom) and
press again to make sure you don't end up with that little tab or divet where the folds are. Then cut to get your straight edge & measure/cut from there. Tearing is definitely easier if you have decent fabric.