Originally Posted by tropit

OK...just for the record....I AM NOT OLD AS DIRT...LOL. I too, remember those measuring thingys with the dial that went round and round as the clerk pulled the fabric through it and then snipped it. The cottons that I bought were always snipped on that machine and then ripped. The clerk usually added a couple of inches for, "good measure." I also loved those brass, grooved insets on the cutting table that helped the clerk to make sure that the other types of fabrics were cut straight. I'd love to have one of those, "groovy," things in my own sewing table.

Oh...and as for your question, yes, you can rip both ways and it will leave nice, straight, edges. Just be sure that your print pattern isn't off, as fabrics are not always printed exactly on grain.

~ Cindy