They cut fabric around here, but I don't mind it being torn on the grain lind.

I also tear my own fabric but my LQS always cuts it. If it's good material it does not get distorted, I won't tear it if the weave isn't tight. The reason I tear vs. cut is I'm usually dealing with a lot of yardage and it's just easier that way.

Tearing is better, and if you are washing your fabric when you get it home like you should, then you will have to remove the selvage edge before you wash and they make strings too!

I am old school textile industry and believe me, if you only knew how poorly the fabric is now made even at $12 a yard, you would beg them to rip to make sure you are getting it on grain!

The only exception to this is usually plaids and checks..but I have torn homespun plaid that were 100% on grain before!

Oh and on French sheers you always PULL a thread and then cut....but who uses those any more...

s for pre-washing...it is a MUST in today market place....do you know how many chemicals on that fabric just to get into this country...not to mention other dirt from assorted warehouses and transport boxes...I am by no means a germaphobe, but honestly, those chemicals are causing lots of issues with headaches, eye irritation, skin issues...it is best to be safe....

that's the way I was taught too. And if we were working on wool, we had to pull a thread across grain WOF to find the straight.. Normally after I tear, I go to the ironing board and press that edge flat, using a little steam. I've never experienced stretching. It always makes me upset after I tear, and then be able to see just how much material I was shorted by cutting. I'd prefer having it torn anyday.

I have never had a place tear,but I do myself sometimes. I want mine cut when I buy it and thats what I would request.

I actually own a still working fabric gauge! It went in the old TG&Y that was here.

I want mine cut, if thay give a little more than I was paying for, I may deal with the riping.
:shock: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

I don't think I could bear my fabric being torn - oooh the sound of it!! :-o

I won't go back to a store that rips the fabric. Ripping cross-grain damages the fabric fibers up to 2 inches in from the rip. The damage isn't necessarily visible to the naked eye, but shows up under a microscope. Also, I find that ripping often stretches and distorts the ripped edge.

Now, at home, I will sometimes rip a fabric along the lengthwise grainline for borders. That is not as hard on the fabric, I think, as ripping crossgrain.

I have never had anyone tear my fabrics. I will some times tear my own, if I need to take a strip off of a very large piece.

i have asked my local shop to tare wide backing as i loose too much when they cut it - sometime as much as 10". While they say they add a bit, the double/double fold of wide backing is very difficult to cut accurately. I want it straight on both ends.

I've never seen a store rip fabric before. They've always cut it.

I like mine cut,I find that ripping often stretches and distorts the ripped edge. Sometimes you can see where they get off the straight of the fabric when cutting, I have asked if they would true the edge and one store was very...well not nice about it...I don't go there anymore.

Some LQS's do, some don't. The reasoning is that you will get a 'true' straight of grain. I, too prefer the cut method and don't go to the shop that rips very often. They won't cut even if you ask, but don't know if others will or not, but you could ask and find out.

Back in the day all yard goods were torm rather than cut. However, today there are so many different fibers and finishes that I think it makes it more difficult. I don't like the raggedy edges either, but either way the smallest measurement should be the measurement you asked for. A four inch difference is disgraceful and you should complain.

Our local quilt shop cuts the fabric...but there is a fabric store in our area that rips it....and I don't like it either.

Wow, TG&Y, that brings back memories. I pulled out some fabric not long ago that still had the pricetag from there. Maybe it's time I figured out what to make out of it.

I'd never go back to a store that tears. I bought some fabric online one time that had been torn (didn't know it till I got it).....It was crooked. I tried like the devil to get it to straighten up. It didn't -- I lost about 1/8th yard.....

My mother gave me a quilt she'd started -- a log cabin. She'd torn the strips. The strips had stripes in some of them...the fabric did NOT stay on the "grain" -- or the design wasn't on the grain. So -- had she not torn it, she could have adjusted and had her stripes show up straight on the quilt.....(is that as clear as mud????)

I have taken material back to stores because they cut it uneven... I don't like it but to me you get a more accurate cut of material.... Walmart is the worst on their cuts....
I guess it boils down to personal preference.........?

Walmart is the worst because they don't train the people . Then they conplain because the fabric dept doesn't show a profit. A little training goes a long way.

I'd rather have it ripped than for them to cut it crooked as some do!

I see what you're saying, but whether the store cut or tore the fabric you were still going to have to deal with a print that was not straight itself. Frankly I would probably have taken it back; how impossible to have to make all of your cuts "off" the correct fabric direction to get a proper vertical line!

I think we are all just a product of our experiences. I've lost loads of yardage over the years with cutting, and have never had a single issue with tearing, so my choice is clear. Anyone who has the opposite experience would surely have the opposite preference, and that's okay! :)

I have seen it done both ways. I do feel that you get a straighter line when it is ripped because it follows the grain but I too don't like the ragged edges. Either way I have to work on neatening it up or squaring it up so it doesn't really matter to me which way they do it.

Ripping the fabric does cause the fibers on the edge(where its been torn) sometimes up to 3/4 of an inch or more that becomes unusable. I ask for mine to be cut. No, its not cheep to begin with and when you have to go home and trim off all the damage. I won't buy it if they won't cut it.

Wow! Thanks everyone for all of your input. It has been very interesting and informative to see everyone's opinion and preference regarding this matter.

Have a great day :lol:
Lori

I can remember when all cotton fabric was torn. I think I actually see more raveling with cut fabric than with torn. Tearing gives a straighter more acurate piece of fabric. I hate getting home and finding the fabric was cut 4 inches shorter on one side. I am not real happy when they cut my fabric with dull scissors that chew the fabric.

I was impressed that there are those around who still tear the fabric. The one around here that does also seems to take more care in the folding of the fabric after tearing it.

If you don't like the tearing, ask them to please cut it.

I don't like the look of torn fabric myself, but I seldom see it torn because the shops around here don't tear. Long ago, a lot of shops did tear the fabric because they said it made a "straighter cut", and I think maybe it did back then. A lot of the fabric today is not woven straight and is woven in such a way that if you tear, you don't get a straight of grain cut. Just my opinion.

It seems to be a reflection of how poor the quality of fabric is today. At one time better cotton goods were all printed 'on grain.' Fabric was torn to guarantee you were getting the amount you were paying for. It was actually the lesser shops or departments that would cut instead of tearing. When the wrinkle-free finishes began to appear you couldn't permanently straighten them at all so cutting became more the norm. I would certainly like to be able some of that older cotton, cut or torn.

So long as they allow a little lee - way for the tearing, I would not be worried. However, just about every place I go to in this country has a furrow in the cutting table which the scissors are moved along so that there is an accurate cut. If they don't have that, they measure and accurately cut with a rule and rotary cutter.

some fabric is off grain by a lot, so if they tear and begin on grain then you get more material and don't have to deal with off grain fabric later. Sometimes it doesn't make that much difference but on the other hand it can. I don't care for the ragged edge either but it is easy to trim and you lose less fabric by trimming on grain.

I recently bought fabric at JoAnn Fabric and the clerk tryed to
make the fabric staight however if you want a true straight cut
you need to tear the fabric. I have even done it with slipcover
fabric. when wanting a true (straight of the fabric) piece.

We loose lots of fabric just trying to make our pieces square or
straight so I guess it is up to the user what you do.

Flo from NNY

I do not have a problem with torn fabric in fact I have had some so crooked the only way I could straighten it was to tear now I'm telling my age but when I was in high school in home ec the teacher always had us tear for an accurate grain line I think that tearing went out when polyester came in

I prefer to have it ripped, but no one in my area does that any more.

Our LQS tear, but they always allow an extra inch or so of fabric.

When I was young I would go to town with my grandmother. They tore the fabric as you have described. I have never seen it done in "modern" times say since the end of the 1950's, but I would not like it done to my fabric. I would ask them to cut it instead of tearing it. I am sure they would want to please their customer.

All the fabric I buy online is not torn. Also the two LQS in my area cut. There is no reason, with the measuring boards and sharp scissors they have, that they can't cut. I think it is just plain lazy. My LQS cuts so accurately that I almost don't have to straighten the edge at all when I start cutting pieces. If I do it may be only 1/8 of an inch at the most and that is not often. I commented to her one day about this. She attributes it to the really good pair of scissor she has which cost $60.

I work part time in a fabric shop and I cut or rip the fabric. I will ask new customers which they prefer.

I use to be partners in a quilt shop and we always tear the fabric. This is so there is no waste and things are true. When you see that angle at the end of the fabric it is caused by the way they put the fabric on the bolts at the factory or the distributor. It is twisted a bit. If you are luck enough to have a long or mid arm, you can attach the torn ends and roll it back and forth adding a bit of tension and straighten the longest of pieces lickety split. Wide backs are impossible to cut straight rolling will fix them up pronto. If you don't believe in washing first, use this time to spritz your fabric with a bit of water and a little bit of fabric softener as you roll. Smooth the fabric on the pick up roller and let it set for about 20 or 30 minutes. No need to iron.

It is your choice how you want your fabric treated. Tearing the fabric does give you a straight edge; however, it warps the edge also and you lose about 2 to 3 inches at every tear. At $10 a yard, that's a lot to lose cumulatively - especially if you're getting a small amount (1/2 yard or less).

I personally will not buy any fabric that's been torn. I've had people tear the fabric before I can tell them not to do it and then I've refused to buy the fabric.

I had one quilt shop refuse to cut - they offered me an extra 2 or 3 inches of fabric. They told me they preferred to tear than cut fabric. I told them I preferred to shop elsewhere and left. This was in spite of the fact that it was the only shop that had a fabric I'd been looking a month or more for.

me, too. on both fronts.