bearisgray

Now I (usually) check the fabric to see if it is on- grain before I buy it. Sometimes I do forget to check.

I wash and dry the fabric to see if it will go back to on-grain. Sometimes that does the trick.

If not, then to the diagonal pull and tug on the fabric to attempt to straighten it.

Then, after getting it more or less straight, I would resort to heavy starching to reinforce the new alignment of the threads.

If the design is printed off-grain, then the choices are cutting off-grain to follow the design, or cutting on-grain and not following the design. There is no pulling a design that is printed off- grain straight.
I still prefer to have my pieces on- grain - I think the finished block is a lot easier to press then.

ManiacQuilter2

I would do as Jeanne stated. Starch the hell out of the fabric before cutting and it shouldn't give you any problems.

QuiltE

AGree with most of what has already been said.

As said, when quilting, we are not looking for the drape effect that we see in garments.
With the quilting process, we have the advantage to stabilize that off-grained fabric, so that our finished quilts do drape nicely and stay true to their shapes with use and wash..

MaryAnnMc

Oh, I knew y'all would have the answer!! You're the best. Thanks so much... I'll stretch first, then starch. I didn't wash any of the other fabric, so I'd rather not wash this one. Hopefully the Stretch & Starch method will work.

paoberle

When I started sewing many, many years ago, I was taught to always take my fabric, before cutting, and stretch it diagonally to square it up. Fabrics are much better today, but I find I occasionally need to do this.

Friday1961

Yep! That's how I was taught to straighten fabric. Years ago a lot of fabric was "crooked" especially cottons.

Doggramma

I've been working a lot with solids lately and the Moda Bellas are very off-grain. I've been clipping into the crosswise edge and tearing the fabric. It seems to be working for me, although it irritates me.

Barb in Louisiana

I recently had a piece of fabric I was working with that was going to be a border. I was cutting WOF because the pattern ran across rather than up & down.

The fabric pattern (a collegiate one) was sectioned off into squares with a small white line between each of the segment parts. I ended up cutting on the white line even though my fabric was at an angle, and then ironing the 12" wide pieces straight before attaching them to the pieced top. So far, so good. Tomorrow I will iron the whole top again, and then put it on the long arm. The whole top is square right now, so I think I'm good.

I actually thought about just cutting the fabric, but I knew better and I knew every time I saw the quilt I would absolutely hate that I hadn't made an effort to keep those lines straight. Now, if this had been something that was only going to be a few inches or set on an angle, I don't think I would have cared as much.

Jeanette Frantz

Cutting fabric with a printed design can be a real pain in the neck. Ask me know I know -- I had to straighten (to the greatest extent possible) some embroidered squares my 88 year old aunt made. They were a mess -- I don't know how long she had them laying around, but it was a question of either doing the best I could do with them, or discarding heirloom embroidery and I couldn't see doing that! Best wishes for total success with your project!

Jeanette

maviskw

The pull technique is what I used to use in garment sewing many years ago. But you don't pull on opposite corners unless the fabric is square to begin with. If it's not square, find the spot on one side that would make a square, and pull that spot, which will be the true bias, with the opposite corner. Move both hands down about six inches and pull on that square. Keep going until you get to the other corner, then keep going on that last triangle, right into the final corner. Then go back and do the first triangle, too.
If you start a few inches from the first corner, you might understand it better. Just keep pulling on the true bias.