quiltorelse

Always use the same ruler to cut all the pieces of a quilt. Each ruler has slight differences in the spacing of the lines. Using multiple rulers adds to the cutting differences.

Alice PD

I'm a little short, and my cutting surface is a little high. I found that my visual perspective was off when just going at it under these circumstances, which made my cuts a little off. When I got a stool, which puts me well above the cutting surface, I am looking directly down on my object and that helps me get a straighter cut. Lastly, my DH, who use to be a draftsman/engineer, sometimes helps me. His ability to see what is going on with the ruler has been a big help. Also, I starch, starch, starch and sometimes tape down a piece to insure no slippage, and when using my June Tailor strip cutter, I always cut off about 1/16 inch at the beginning so I am certain I am starting with a perfectly straight edge.

Alice

Alice

NJ Quilter

I believe in this as well. Another suggestion is to put a piece of tape or a sticky note exactly where you want to measure for cutting. Particularly if you tend to get distracted in that process. We might THINK we are using the same spot on the ruler, but are we?? I know frequently I am not.

milly35

Thank you for the great feedback. I am not sure what I am doing wrong but some of my pieces are a little too long and then I'll find one too short. I am not really sure where I should be placing the measuring line. I too am short and my table is too tall and lighting not good so I really have a lot of work to do. I think I will go to the quilt shop and see if I can get some help.

ladydukes

I just returned from a Bonnie Hunter workshop. One suggestion that she told us is the same as many who posted, and that is to have the line of the ruler ON the fabric, not off of the edge. This gives you the cut that allows for sewing and pressing because both take up a few threads when sewn and pressed. Also, take your rulers one by one and place them standing up on edge on a flat surface. If you can run a piece of paper under the ruler with no problem, your ruler is warped. Try this with all sides of your rulers to ensure they are not warped or that you haven't 'sliced' off a bit of the ruler over time.

Barb in Louisiana

All the tips so far have been very good. A quilt teacher told me one day to never use the lines on the cutting mat as a cutting guide. Solution, I use 2 rulers butted up together if I need them to get a wider cut.

Second thing was - always place the ruler on top of the piece of fabric you are cutting so that the good part stays under the ruler while cutting. The second tip has made all the difference in the world for me. It has almost totally stopped the slippage and bad cuts. I, also, cut, then walk my fingers, then cut again if the need arises.

I am right handed. I square my fabric up with the bulk of it to my left. Remember, ruler on the good piece. Then I either go to the other side of the table or turn the fabric so that the bulk of it is to my right so that my ruler is on the good fabric and the bulk of the fabric is to my right to make piece cuts. That way any bad cuts go into the left over fabric and you just have to trim off the edge of the piece you need. FYI...it's a lot easier than it sounds.

imsewnso

I like to use two rulers. I am right handed and I first line up the ruler to square off the fabric. I then put a ruler on top of the fabric measuring 3" (for example) I butt the ruler I am going to cut with against the first ruler If the first ruler is a short one, I slide it up to the top of the fabric and then to the bottom of the fabric checking to make sure the 3" is consistent. Then I cut my fabric. The bulk of my fabric is to the left side as I cut the pieces I need. I walk my hand up the ruler to hold it in place.

If you are short you might look into a portable table sold at Wally world. They are adjustable and a cutting mat would fit on this. Another thing you might try is using your ironing board at the adjusted height.

Bubbie

Every thing that has been said is very good and will help a lot. The other thing I found was if I cut late at night or after hours and hours of sewing, my cuts would start to be off also. So I have put off cutting in the middle of the night (have a hard time sleeping), as well as after long hours of sewing (your eyes can be tired and you don't realize it). Good luck

bearisgray

I am confused -

Do you have the ruler on top of the fabric that will be cut off?

I am right hand dominant -
How I cut:
If I need to fold the fabric, I do that first
I have the measured amount under my ruler - and cut on the right-hand side of the ruler. The bulk/rest of the fabric is to the right of the ruler.

My current favorite rulers are the Olfa frosted ones - they have nice thin lines - I lay the ruler so that I can barely see the edge of the fabric to the left of the line of my desired dimension.

My cut pieces are actually a tiny bit larger than the designated size - maybe 1/64th of an inch.

I have been meaning to measure the width of strips cut using a June Tailor shape thing - but have not done so yet.

For my first cut - I just cut "big" and turn it around and trim it on the other side.

Sometimes the selvages shrink/pucker on washed fabrics -I clip them every few inches so the fabric is laying flat all the way to the edge.
I like to keep the selvages on as long as possible for two reasons:
1) It minimizes raveling/fraying
2) It might give me a clue as to what the fabric source/pattern is

OrangeSherbet

thanks for the tip