Originally Posted by annesthreads
Can I have your comments on what a friend has said to me today? I was telling her how pleased I was with the advice I received here about tearing fabric, as it solved my problem so easily - and she said she was told not to tear because it warps the fabric and because (I think) the pattern is often not directly lined up with the grain of the fabric, so it won't tear exactly along the line of the pattern (but surely that would affect cutting too, as it would mean the pattern wasn't straight on the fabric? I don't really see what she means there).
Tearing doesn't warp the fabric. If the pattern isn't printed straight it doesn't matter if you tear it or cut it's still not going to be straight. If you cut it with the pattern you'll be cutting it off grain. If you cut it with the pattern you'll likely cut a rhombus or some such and pull your hair out trying to get the top, batting and backing all lined up.