Originally Posted by
McGargantuette
Thanks so much for everyone's help -- a few new/different approaches to try! I've only tried the "hold fabric by selvages and slide/wiggle selvages until it hangs without twist or wrinkle" method, but that's how I get my "V" cuts despite my best efforts. It just seems so imprecise to me. I'll see if I can do better with your suggestions,
McG, you need to understand that "straight of grain" and cutting strips without the dreaded "V" are two completely different topics. The "hold selvages together and wiggle" method has to do with straight of grain only. It does *not* help eliminate "V" bends when cutting strips.
The *only* thing that matters when cutting strips is making sure that your ruler is positioned *exactly* 90 degrees from the fold. Your fabric can be folded on the straight of grain, off the straight of grain, even folded at true bias -- and you can still cut perfectly straight strips. Wiggling selvages together makes no difference.
Practice with pieces of typing paper. Fold the paper any way you like -- exactly in half, at weird angles, whatever. Then cut strips from the folded paper. Notice how, the more tilted the ruler is from the fold, the deeper the "V". The entire trick to getting straight cuts from folded fabric is the positioning of your ruler in relation to the fold. This applies even to the Accuquilt die cutter. In order to achieve strips without a "V", you must position the fold of the fabric accurately in relation to the cutting edges.