landers1

Why ? I also have a Big Go,Learning to use it so far I love it

landers1

Francis41 Why put white paper on top ?

Geri B

Congrats on your purchase! Ebony Love on YouTube has/had some good videos on die info......
here's a tip - if you are only cutting a section of a die...use a mat to only cover that section...if you mat the whole die and parts are not covered with fabric, the blades make deep cuts into the mat, thus causing mat to wear out sooner...

Rhonda K

Congrats on your AQ!

Its a great system for using scraps. I also starch the fabric and iron first. It gives a better cut. You can list your purchased dies in the AQ site so you have a record. I keep a list on my phone so I don't duplicate dies. Check the site for numerous free patterns.

Be sure the dies are stacked upright and not on top of each other.

If you have an embroidery machine, there are EMB designs that coordinate with certain dies. Always a fun project to do!

Innov8R

Congrats on your move toward fast and easy cutting. I would suggest you USE your machine with the dies that you have before buying more. I have the Studio 2, and many dies. I learned that I like the single dies rather than the big multiples. I use GO! dies (with an adapter ) and am not all that impressed with the BOB dies. You will have your own preferences. Learn what you enjoy using and only invest in those.

Onebyone

The paper is important if for some reason the fabric can't be aligned by grain or shifts when cutting. I use paper to test for a proper cut for every new die. I use card stock to cut my EPP shapes.

quilttiger

You will love your Go Big cutter. I started out with AccuQuiltGo and then I needed to switch to Go Big due to arthritis. Both are great. My favorite dies are the strip cutters in different widths. It is so easy to cut the strips and then lay them across to subcut into squares. If I need rectangles, I cut strips and then lay them across a different sized cutter. For example, I cut 2.5 inch strips and then lay them across 6.5 inch strip die to get the 2.5 x 6.5 rectangles.

mhollifiel

My Go Big is a lifesaver! Something I have done that helps me is to extend the edges of my die shape with a fine tipped black marker to the outer edges of the die. I just put a ruler on the cutting line and extend it with my permanent marker. That way I know when I have covered the cut lines adequately on all sides. This eliminates "lifting and peeking" checks which can cause shifting. I know at a glance if I have all edges covered.

I cut kits every month for our charity bee. There are 12-15 of us each month and we shoot for a top each every meeting. I need to be very efficient to do this. So I cut large strips and fan fold them. For example, I cut 7 1/2" WOF strips by hand to use the 6 1/2" HST die. That way I don't have to spend lots of time tweaking the mostly donated fabric to get it to work. I used to be wary of wasting any bit of fabric but the time saved is worth the little fabric that goes to waste. I know, I am the worst about saving every bit of fabric I can. But I am learning that I pay a high price for that especially now that I cut so much fabric and need to be quick. That price is time to do quilts to satisfy myself!

SusieQOH

The only advice I have that nobody else mentioned is this:
At first I was so excited that I bought doubles of some dies by mistake. Actually they are good dies that I will probably use but just thought I'd mention it.
I have the Go but I'm sure the one you got is even better! Have fun. It really helps me with precision.

themachinelady

Oh am so happy for you. I was gifted a Go Big for Xmas and darned if I was going to look a gift horse in the mouth and I already love it. I have the churn dash BOB die and love it, have never had my points match this good in all the blocks I have made and the cutting is a breeze. The sewing went so quickly to put the block together I could hardly believe I had the block together and was extremely pleased with how the points matched to a "t" and how nice it looked.

I am looking forward to making some more of the blocks with some fabric sent to our quilt club by some ladies who were most generous and using the blocks for the quilt club for quilts for people who lose their homes to fires. It is a dream to work with. I would suggest you look at what size blocks you use the most in your quilting and then look at the dies available in those sizes. If you can, wait for a sale, as those boogers are expensive.

Happy cutting and sewing.