I prefer the ripping because you know you have the straight of grain and much quicker than the pull the thread method. I find that the little bit I lose is more than compensated for when the blocks cut are on the grain they fit together so nicely. They press flat like a drea - match like a dream etc. When it is cut by the store I bring it home wash it and rip one edge to get the cut I want. But in the final analysis it boils down to personal preference -- all quilts look nice when done with either method. My problem is that I am old school, completed my first stitchery in the late forties - and old habits die hard.