Originally Posted by
Prism99
Which Stripology ruler did you get? They have two. The one I have is the earlier version, rectangular like the JT. I think they made a design error with it, as it is not tall enough to consistently be able to cut strips all the way through the selvedge ends. They fixed that in their newer version, the Stripology Squared, by making the cutting strips taller. It is a smaller mat, however, so you cut fewer strips at a time. If I had it to do over again, I would get the Squared. I like my JT mats just fine, though, so I will stay with them.
I've seen this mentioned a couple times and I just wanted to throw my two cents in there:
Yes! If the rectangular Stripology was just a tiny bit taller, it would be perfect on the first try. However! However, after figuring out what was happening, I think I've got my method worked out to fix it. I love this ruler. It makes me so happy to use it.
The first couple times I used it, I wasn't able to cut all the way through the top of the strip and had to finish it off after I moved the ruler. That was super frustrating, and I kept thinking: did I waste my money?? Here's the thing though: the ruler has marks from 1-14 inches vertically, but that's including space outside of the usable cutting area so I do think that is a little disingenuous on their part. You really truly have a little over 11in of true cutting space in the slot.
However, I think the longest WOF is 44in? So folded in half is 22, then folded in half again is 11in. Once I figured out that I can't double fold it if the first fold (coming off the bolt) is ridiculous lopsided, I haven't had a problem again. The selvages need to be close to matching - it doesn't have to be perfectly matched unless you're cutting something that is greater than 44in. I don't actually line my fabric up on the inch marker at the bottom of the cutting slot either. Creative Grids provides lots of markings on the ruler, so I use the top of the black little 1/4in dashes in between the slots when I'm cutting a piece that is a full WOF. I could use the 2in line if I really needed to and still have plenty of room at the top. Normally, I use a 45mm cutter and that has been fine.
I think if you were really tight on space, you could use a smaller cutter and get more cutting space in the slot.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]593268[/ATTACH]