I hold the fabric by the folded edge, not the selvages. Let it drape straight - may have to slightly move the fold side-to-side a bit. Selvage edges and edges where fabric was cut from bolt are not usually exactly straight. After finding natural even drape of fabric, I lay it on table, fold again, trim off fabric on left side (I'm left handed) using shape cut to square it up, then cut my strips - I really like my shape cut - & do cut through about 4 layers at a time, pressing firmly. Good luck.