heron

I'm about to order a couple of charm packs for the first time, but before I do, I have a question. If the pack includes fabrics that have a directional print, can I count on them having been cut so the pattern is straight?

Here's an example: https://www.fatquartershop.com/timeless-charm-pack

I'd hate to buy the pack only to find out that the print isn't aligned to the cut edge of the 5" square.

Thanks.

Barb in Louisiana

Wow! Love the fabrics, but that is a lot of different patterns with a strong vertical that could be cut wrong. The Fat Quarter shop has a toll free number. Why not call them?

PaperPrincess

My guess would be that they would be cut off pattern. The packs I've purchased have never been so. The charm pack is by Moda, a quality fabric company, but pre cuts are all cut by industrial machines.

givio

I've been disappointed with the charm packs I've had. They were from Craftsy. I had a charm that I couldn't use because the corner was missing more than a half inch. And I had several that had curved, or not straight cut sides. Mostly, I disliked the pinked edges, which made it more difficult to get my seam sewn the correct size. This was especially annoying when sewing triangles (the charms cut diagonally), where the pinked corners on the right angles were sometimes there, sometimes not, and mostly all over the place for laying against a triangle I'd cut myself from a different fabric. I couldn't complain about any of it, as they were a free gift included with a quilt kit each time. But after seeing precuts, I prefer to cut my own charms or strips. Getting fat quarters is a different proposition, as I intend to cut those to the size pieces I need myself.

Ariannaquilts

Thankfully I can say that I have never had any problems with any charm packs that I have purchased. I would say probably 94% are Moda ones and the others are Benatex. I don't know if I have just been lucky but nothing to complain about here.

Feathers-N-Fur

It depends on how perfect you expect it to be. The top piece in the link isn’t perfectly lined up with the print, but I would be ok using it. But there are plenty of people who would be upset over anything less than perfection. To each his own.

toverly

Definitely not. A while ago there was a video showing how precuts are cut at one place. The yardage was laid out and stacked multiple charm packs high maybe a foot high or greater. Then a huge machine came down and chopped it all. It's just one of those convenience things. No precision at all.

Jingle

I always cut my own mainly because I have so much yardage and want to use as much as possible.

ArtsyOne

Having each charm with the motif exactly centered would be impossible unless you cut it yourself and were resigned to a lot of waste. Charms are cut by a machine from one end of the yardage to the other - some charms will have the whole motif and others will have only partials.

SusieQOH

I've bought a lot of charm packs, mostly Moda and haven't had a problem but I don't use directional prints very often.
I'm always worried that the print will be wonky!