Originally Posted by
sewbizgirl
I always rip for borders. It's accurate and so much faster. When cross-ripping it does distort the fabric edge a bit, but you can iron that back down and hide it in the seam allowance. Ripping does follow the grain, and is accurate.
Rather than lose you as a customer, Tartan, I'm sure any shop would be glad to comply with your request that they cut, rather than tear, your fabric purchases. Just ask them not to tear.
Not necessarily, sewbizgirl. One shop in town here always rips, and they have refused to cut for me. She is very stubborn about why tearing is best, and says they always cut a bit generous to account for the 1/2" distortion at the edge. Problem with cutting for one and tearing the rest is, first, you have one torn edge whether you like it or not, from the last customer. And now you leave them with an edge that is not square to their next rip.
Ripping is ALWAYS on the straight grain, whether you rip lengthwise or crosswise. If your fabric doesn't line up when you fold it, it's because it was rolled onto the bolt off-grain and has been distorted. you can straighten it, by gently pulling on diagonal corners to tug it back into square. That's more work than I'm willing to do however (and almost impossible to do alone for anything larger than a 1 yard cut). So I try not to shop where they rip, and I deal with slightly off-grain fabric, because in a 3" square it's really not going to show at all.