I bought an Accuquilt and I can't seem to get the perfectly square squares that I was promised! No matter what I do, they come out rectangular!

I am careful to send the fabric through with the stretchy part parallel to the roller part (the correct way... the lengthwise/widthwise confused me and some awesome gals on here put it in terms of "parallel" and "perpendicular" ). I send it through at a slight angle. I send 2 pieces of fabric through at a time. I use the crazy expensive quilt shop quality fabric, so I know that's not it.

And yet, no matter what I do, I end up with rectangles. Sometimes it's 1/2", sometimes it's more, which for how much I paid for the Accuquilt since it's supposed to be so perfect, I'd expect more perfection. I don't know what I'm doing wrong!! Any ideas?? Thanks in advance :)

There was one particular die that everyone was having trouble with (for the life of me I can't remember which one). At any rate, try calling the folks at Accuquilt. I've read that others have had good experience with customer service there. The only time I have a problem is when I'm rushing and putting too much fabric through. I mostly use the strip dies though.

I have no idea but as I was thinking of buying 1 I would be interested to see the response

The 5" square was the one people had trouble with. I have that one but haven't tried yet it. As for accuracy, I'm not getting perfect squares either. Close enough but not really what I wanted for the cost of this machine and dies.

My cuts get outta whack when i put too many layers thru.. Then there was the time I ordered a die that the blades were crushed but called AccuQuilt and I had a new die delivered the very next day.. Their customer service ROCKS! even if your calling about a question, they are friendly and helpful.. The CEO even called me to answer a question.. How cool was that..

I have about all the square dies for the Go. The only one that I use not being perfect is the 6 1/2" square die. The square cuts were coming out a little longer on two sides. I put a piece of thin paper on top of the die then the fabric and haven't had any more distortion at all. If you want a replacement die, if you bought it from a Accucut rep or Accucut a replacement die will be sent to you if you want a new one. I don't know how that works if you buy from JoAnn's or other non rep stores. The yahoo group has all the details about the square dies not cutting accurately and the fixes that work and what dies need to be replaced. My dies are from the first batch made to sell and have a different type of foam backing. The newer dies have a different foam and some think that is the cause. I don't know. This group has all the info you need about the Accucut machines: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/accucutquilters/

It depends on the fabric. I have found that if you put a piece of paper.....like a piece of copy paper, on the die then go over it then it helps with the stretching. I have heard some spray starch and sizing in their material too.

I also am interested on hearing what others say about this since this is on my christmas list.

This is for the 2.5" squares and 2.5" half sq triangles and the 5" sq and every other die I try on that thing... EVERY one comes out stretched

Do you put a piece of paper in EVERY time you send the fabric through? Or just once and then the machine is happy? That seems like a lot of paper otherwise ...

I saw a demonstration and the lady put her fabric on the cutter at a slight angle.

Yeah, I tried that, and I tried sending the cutter through at a slight angle.

If you're having stretching problems, yes you'd need to put paper through with every cut. I think this is only for the few problematic shapes that people have mentioned.

The company is aware of the problem and has specific recommendations; try calling them. Also, people on the accucutquilters group at http://groups.yahoo.com are very helpful.

Up to 1/2" of lopsidedness is a *lot*. Are you by any chance using prewashed fabric that has not been starched? That would be more likely to stretch than unwashed fabric. In either case, starching the fabric first will help prevent stretching while going through the machine.

Placing paper on top of the fabric is the tip that I have seen most often. You can use coffee filters for the paper. It does need to go on every time you run the die package through the machine.

Also, an alternative for some sizes is to use the strip cutting die to make squares (rather than a square cutting die). Basically you cut the strips first, then place the strips perpendicular to the die and run through again to create squares.

My LQS has one and she has a die for the rag quilt squares that I'm thinking about using. I'm going to try the top layer in cotton and the bottom layer in flannel. Thats the only one she has not used. The others have been just fine. I think she only uses 1 fabric at a time though. Has anyone used the rag quilt die for it yet? Would love to know how that one works out. :thumbup:

I do 8 layers of flannel at a time on my Studio and have no problems with the rag die. Though, I don't seem to have stretching problems with any of my dies.

Thanks for the tips. I joined the yahoo group but I've never been able to figure out how those work. I'm used to chat board organizations like this.

I use unwashed fabrics, no starch. I'll try starching.

I have had zero problems with my Accuquilt GO! and all of those dies you mentioned and I use the best fabrics, never pre-wash anything and no starching. I have only done two to three layers of fabric at a time as well.

Do you remember your Yahoo ID? If so, just go to http://groups.yahoo.com and "sign in" with your Yahoo ID. (If you have forgotten your password, you can have it emailed to you.) Once you are signed in, all of your groups will be listed. Click on the accucutquilters group. In the upper area in blue will be an "edit membership" link. Click on that to change from individual emails (the default) to "special notices" only (to just go to the website and view the posts). From there it is fairly easy to figure out how to post a question and read replies.

Thanks. I was able to get into the yahoo group. I don't like that each email gets its own thread. Harder to read. I get spoiled by discussion boards.

I did find out that Accuquilt has its own forum, so I posted on there.

Sorry if this has been answered, but I think she means you put the paper on top of the die, not through it like you would cut it. This would help with the thickness between the roller and the die, and press the die closer so it can be more stable. Sorry if I am incorrect, but that is my understanding anyway. :) Good luck!! Hope you can figure it out.

Rachel

I have used the rag die and I love it. I haven't had any problems with stretching.
elizabeth

I have the GO and have had no problem with my cuts. I have 3 of the strip cutters and the 6.5 square. All good for me. Sorry for you troubles. I would give customer service a call.

Hi Go back to where you bought it It may be a faulty machine Carmen

Kim, it is awesome! I have made two rag quilts with mine and just love it.

I changed the settings on Yahoo groups to have the post listed the way I want to read them. Same with getting updates. I get one update email per group per day not individual emails when someone posts something.