janecat

Rail fence blocks should be one of the easiest of blocks....right?

Even though I am an experienced quilter, I struggle with getting accurate cuts from strip sets. It all has to do with the pressing, I think.

I know that when sewing strip sets that I need to alternate the direction in which I sew each strip. For example, I sew the first 2 strips together---and then when I sew on the 3rd strip, I start at the opposite end from where I started with the first seam. I think that this helps eliminate some of the waviness that sometimes occurs with strip sets after they are pressed.

Nevertheless, my long strip sets still sometimes have a bit of wave to them, and then when I subcut them into sections (like for a rail fence block), I still sometimes struggle to get them cut accurately into my targeted length because there is still sometimes a bit of a wave or because they don't lie as flat as I would like them to.

I've even experimented with doing the subcutting Before I press the strip set, but that's usually not the greatest, either.

Give me tips! What works well for you? Should I starch the heck out of the strips before cutting? Should I work with shorter strip sets? I would love to hear your good advice.

Thanks!