Great question about whether or not to cut strips from yardage. I cut a fairly large sample 1/2-1 yard of fabric from a larger bundle of fabric. I then fold it to where I have either two layers or four layers thick. I cut from there. The odd thing is that these pieces are so small, I keep any little extra bits in a ziploc bag (colors jumbled) and go there first for pieces. I tried to fold my larger yardage amounts to where the cut edge could be easily unwrapped but found that the yardage got in the way.