Last year at the Paducah Quilt Show we went to Eleanor Burns tent sale - she actually had four locations in Paducah during the show - anyway, they all tore the fabric. The lady that was tearing mine said that they absolutely could not stand and cut all of that fabric, that their hands would be so blistered and sore - so they just snipped it and tore it. I don't remember any of mine being particularly stringy, etc.