wesing

I need some helpful hints from the experts. We have finally collected enough half-yard cuts of novelty fabrics to make I-spy quilts. I am folding the fabrics in half as they come off the bolt, then in half again matching the selvedge edges to the first fold, and I am using an 8.5 by 12.5 ruler to cut 5" strips, then 5" squares. When I make the first fold, I put the selvedge edges together and slide them left and right until the fabric hangs straight, then do the same for the second fold. When I cut my strips, 80% of them come out perfectly straight, but the others have a bend, usually in the center. Some of them are really bad.

It's not such a horrible problem right now, because I have enough length to correct for the bend and still get 8 squares from each strip. But, I wish I knew what I'm doing wrong because next time I might not have that luxury. I really prefer cutting this way because it's so much easier on my wrist, and there is a lot less chance to move the ruler while making the cut.

Does anyone have any suggestions for cutting this way to help me avoid the bends?

Thanks,

Darren