I usually snip & rip my first edge on multiple yards of fabric, then reroll it straight on a "board". The end of the bolt that's out first then has been straightened for cutting. I have gotten a lot of terrible cuts, with up to 5" off (typically 2"+)...thankfully I usually don't buy less then 3 yards, so I only lose it the one time. I think some of the move to cutting @ yard goods stores was due to so many non-wovens entering the scene in the 70's (polyester-regular, then fleece, all kinds of synthetics) that couldn't be ripped.