Originally Posted by
sweet
I think that a straight grain helps in reducing the ravel in the seam allowances.
Actually, I think it's the opposite. Strips cut on the true bias ravel less than strips cut on the straight grain. I believe crossgrain ravels more than lengthwise grain, but they both ravel. In my experience, the extent of raveling in the seams depends a great deal on the specific fabrics (and on the amount of handling they get). I don't normally get a lot of raveling with my quilting fabrics, but I noticed that my Kaufman Kona black fabric ravels like crazy when I cut it into strips. Solid colors seem to all be made out of a different weave of fabric than regular quilting cottons, so I think that might be the reason.
If you have a scrap of fabric, you might want to try cutting strips on both the grain and the bias, then compare the amount of raveling you get. (I'd do this myself, but I'm too lazy!
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