Originally Posted by Lady Tapioca
I draw my shape on the fusible, cut it out with a small margin all around, then fuse it and cut
I do the same, but on the larger pieces, I do what is called "windowing". That's where you cut out the center of the fusible BEFORE ironing it to the wrong side of your fabric, leaving about 1/4" of the fusible inside the drawn line. This leaves the center of the piece unfused and softer. This also allows you to carefully cut out the underneath layer (after you sew it done) to reduce the thickness & stiffness. This is especially useful when you are stacking layer upon layer.