Calling all experienced quilters! Your advice...
 

Hi! I literally just signed up for this forum because I'm a brand new quilter (26 years old) and was hoping one of you more experienced quilters could help me with something :)

My mom (who doesn't know too much about quilting), said that I need 45mm rotary blades for my rotary cutter...

There are a few options online, I don't know anything about these blades..

Help!?

Welcome to quilting and to the board! You are in for such fun!

There are different sized rotary blades. I think 45mm is the most used size; it's the only size I've used, and I don't think you could go wrong starting off with that size. I have an Olfa cutter with a slightly curved handle, and it has worked well.

Welcome to the board. Yes a rotary cutter will make your quilting life much easier. There are MANY brands on the market. I started quilting 25 years ago, at about your age. I am still using my original Olfa cutter and I swear by Olfa brand blades. You will get loads of varying opinions on this. All quilting tools have dedicated loyal followers from scissors to sewing machines to needles and fabric. Of all the expenses you will have quilting, the rotary cutter and self healing mat will probably be the most used items along with your sewing machine. Try to get your hands on a 50% off coupon from JoAnnes. It will be well spent on the largest mat you have room for. Have fun and so glad you found us.

Hi, glad to help!

I've used olfa's blades for over 20 years but recently a few of my friends were raving about a new rotary blade called improved cut.

I was curious about what they were going on about so I tried them and was very impressed.

I don't think we are meant to add links here but I'll try anyway if you want to check them out!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...=sr_1_5&sr=8-5

Hope that helped!

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*** HI! Y'all welcome from the upstate of South Carolina.
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*** They do not have the cutter, but the blade are cheaper at Harbor Freight.
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Weird question about cutter blades. I noticed, again, the numbers around the edge of the blades, anyone know what they are for? Just looked them up and will try them next time!

I'm not sure I understand the problem. Do you currently have a rotary cutter and need to buy replacement blades for it? And, if so, is your question "how do you know what size of replacement blades to purchase": 28mm, 35mm, or 60mm?

I can measure the width of each of these blades so that you can compare the size to your current blade if that will help. Let me know if that would be useful.

I use the Fiscars. They are all a little costly for blades so buy when you have some great Joanns coupons

Welcome to the world of quilting! You do not need a rotary cutter at all to quilt. They were only invented maybe 40 years ago & long before that quilts were constructed using scissors.

Rotary cutters offer a more precise cut than scissors. If you are going to use a rotary cutter, you also need a self-healing cutting mat (I love Olfa brand available at JoAnn -- mine is 18" x 24", you don't want to go much smaller than that; you can buy bigger ones if you'd like) and a ruler. A 6" x 24" ruler is probably ideal but I've been using by 3.5" x 24" ruler that I bought when I started quilting for many years now & it's usually sufficient. I like the Omnigrip rulers, but there are lots of great rulers out there & just as many opinions about which is best.

For your rotary cutter, there are 4 standard sizes: 18mm, 28mm, 45mm & 60mm. 45mm is the most common for quilting. The size of rotary cutter you have will dictate what size blades you buy. I'm not aware of a rotary cutter that lets you switch between different sized blades. I only had a 28mm cutter for years. It worked fine for everything except making cuts using a specialty ruler called a ShapeCut. 28mm cutters will only cut through 4 layers of fabric at a time. 45mm cutters can do 6-8 layers & 60mm cutters can do even more. 18mm blades will only cut through 1-2 layers at a time, but their small size allows them to better cut along curves and intricate designs.

You do need to buy replacement blades in whatever size your rotary cutter is (if you don't know, check the blade itself). A good rule of thumb is to change your blade each time you start a new quilting project. I would recommend buying a 5-pack to start with so you have extras if your blade starts to dull & not cut through all your fabric. Dull rotary blades, like dull knives, are dangerous. They can slip, jump on/over your ruler and slice your hand. Not fun.

Wal-Mart has the best deals on rotary cutters & blades.