Originally Posted by Carrie
Yes, I'm of the older generation where they used the machine to measure and nip a cut then rip. I learned in Home Ec. it was the only way to get it cut on straight of the grain. You certainly got value for what you bought and the little that you lost on the edges was minimal. Today you can lose INCHES by the time you prewash then straighten the material.
OMGosh that reminds me of our bouffant lady in the fabric section of JC Pennys in my hometown - gosh I wish I could remember her name! wow that's right they had a meter thing that she slid the fabric in and ran it through and hands on a dial wound around like a clock to measure the yardage, then make the cut. They had this sort of ritual where my mom would always say ooh that's too much extra you don't have to do that and she'd say oh no deary I never rely on this thing to measure it right. haha everytime! I'll have to ask my mom about that because I think we also had a fabric store too. She had dresses and fabric.. her name was Mrs. Cleghorn but I can't remember for sure oooff! I feel old now.
I still rip strips for rugmaking.. they seem to fray less, especially since i use really cheap fabric for rugs, it'll fray like crazy if you cut it versus tearing.