Originally Posted by LucyInTheSky
I don't love mine (and am disappointed that I don't love it). I can't get it to cut the fabric without stretching. And I do have the length/widthwise grains positioned correctly, I do send it through at an angle, I do only send 1 layer of fabric through, etc, and my squares are always slightly rectangular. Which I can cut squares that are slightly rectangular on my own! I did appreciate it when I was teaching 88 students to cut and was able to quickly cut 176 triangles and 88 squares, since the kids didn't care/know that they weren't perfectly accurate. But I don't know if I would buy it again
Have you used the suggestion to use a clean piece of white paper between the fabric and the mat? And are you being careful to line up the fabric grain and the die edges?
Finally, if you 'pre-dut' pieces too small, they can stretch.
If you have arthritis or shoulder problems, the Go really helps - AND you can cut all pieces for a quilt quilt quickly. It's a bit 'stiff' to turn at first, but it soon becomes easier to turn.
I love the accuracy of the dies. I cut HSTs with 4 layers of fabrics, right sides together, pick pairs up and sew them together. Dog ears are cut off by the dies. If my 1/4" seam is accurate, NO SQUARING UP needed!!!!! I don't dread HSTs any more.
If you keep twisting and turning your mat, it lasts a LONG time. I haven't had to change the original mat that came with the GO, and I've cut 100s of HSTs with the die that came with the GO with it. Considering that the mat is also being 'hit' with the other 2 shapes on that die, that's a lot of use out of that mat, and it's still good!
Shop around - you can almost always find a better price than the $350 original for the Go cutter. www.jhittlesewing.com has it for less than that with free shipping. Their die prices are good, too.