Brand new quilter: If you don't have a "mentor" close by that can come over and help you, go to your LQS and take a rotary cutting class. I struggled for three years trying to learn how to correctly cut my quilt pieces and things weren't ever as good as I wanted them to be. After I took a class, things began to fall in place. There are also many many tools out there you can buy that quilters have designed to help cut certain patterns. Those are all good and I own some but there is nothing like being able to cut with a standard mat, rotary cutter and basic ruler.