Cutting 1.5" squares
 

I am about to embark on a quilt that will have over 4,000 squares at a finished size of 1".

I have been waffling about a Go baby or Big Shot cutter for awhile, and thought this would be the perfect time to buy one.

I can't find that either has a die that creates a 1" (finished) square.

Before I break out the rotary cutter and spend days cutting- can anyone verify that my search yielded the right results? There really is no die for me? (I found a scrapbooking die, but I don't want to cut one at a time- I wanted a die that would do multiples.)

Thanks!

I did one like that but I made strips, sewed them together and then trimmed them to the right width and sewed those together. Since it made a design, I made various strips together, trimmed and then chose from my strip sets to sew together. It was ever so much easier to sew sets of 3- 1" squares together than 1 at a time. I had only four colors in the quilt, an off white, a light green and a dark green and a medium green. I made combinations of all t hose colors and worked with that...for example, three strips of off white sewn together, etc.

Oh, I'm not worried about the sewing part- I'm making pixel art from Nintendo. So all the squares have to have very specific color patterns- I am fusing them to interfacing and then will sew- the sewing will be the easy part. No seams to match at all!

The accuquilt has a strip die that cuts 1 1/2 inches. You can cut the fabric in strips then lay them horizontally and cut then into squares. The die cut can also be used for sashing and borders later. I use my strip dies more than my other ones.

Thanks- I'll look into the strip dies.

Here's the 1.5" strip die:
http://www.accuquilt.com/go-shop/die...exclusive.html

You can also use a June Tailor Shape Cut in a similar fashion to the Accuquilt. Cut 1.5" strips, then re-position the mat to cut across the strips.

I have the Accuquilt Studio and use both the 1.5" strip cutter as well as the 1.5" square dies.

I would love to have a studio. There are actually 2 dies that work with the Studio. One cuts 16 squares and another cuts 6 at a time.

I have the studio and the Go cutter....love the Studio worth the money...I use all of the strip dies. I also use it to make latch hook rugs. I like using the hand crank...no fears of it breaking...and can use if the power goes out.

If you are making a stamp quilt, Mariposa is doing a swap of 1.5" squares. Sign up ends 1/15.

Just use a june tailor shape cut it will go fast. just cut strips stack them and cut in 1.5 inch increments in the slots.

Thanks all for the comments. The studio is WAY out of my price range unfortunately. I decided against getting a strip cutter, and will just rotary cut... Thank goodness New Years Day is a holiday!

Barri1- thanks for info about the swap, but I'm not doing random, so I need very specific colors.

It would be easier and more accurate cuts to cut 3 inch squares and then cut four 1 1/2" squares from those. You could stack the squares four deep and get 16 small squares with two cuts. A rotating mat would be your best investment for this and it's inexpensive compared to a die cut machine.

(Genuine question) Why do you think it would be more accurate to first cut 3" squares and then cut them? How is that different from cutting 1.5" strips and then cutting the squares? Since I have to first cut accurate 3" squares and then cut accurate midlines in them, it seems like more room for error.

I'll be waiting for an answer to this to.
Why? I may never need 1 1/2 inch squares but would like to know.

It might be a head game, but cutting one 3" into four 1 1/2's just sounds easier. Cutting pieces is my least favorite part of quilting(so far). I too would like to know if there is a cutter out there that is better than the rest.

Cutting the 3" squares is easier and I get more accurate cuts. Some may find it doesn't make a difference or is not easier. Everyone has to decide for themselves.

I would definitely use the June Tailor Shape Cut. Far more accurate than a ruler. I was able to cut all the fabric strips for a lap size Bargello in less than 30 minutes without worrying about the rotary cutter 'wandering' away from the edge of the ruler. Wouldn't cut strips without it. And it's easy to turn the strips and cut them into squares.

What's the name of the pattern? I'd like to see one.

accuquilt also has a 1 1/2 inch block die. I bought mainly to make 1 1/2 inch blocks for the postage stamp swaps.

Martelli also has a 1 1/2 strip rule and a strip template with several sizes cut into it.

I dug out my old Sizzix machine that I used in scrapbooking before I got my Cricut. It cuts wonderful squares. Sure am glad I didn't throw it out!

I just got the AccuQuilt Go at SewforLess.com for 199 w/free shipping. it's still on sale. Just couldn't beat the price. I haven't used it very much yet, but I have big plans for it.

I haven't found the 1 1/2" die at Accuquilt. All I found was the 2" square that finishes at 1 1/2".

My favorite cutter for any size would be my HUBBIE... He always does a fantastic job, and I love watching him work..

I just used a regular ruler and cut 4000 squares this morning :)

Thanks for the reply- this does look like a good die to have, but it wouldn't have worked for this project. I needed 4,000 1.5" squares- cutting all the others would have been a lot of waste, and precutting my fabric to just get the small square would have taken a lot of time.

It took me about half-day to cut all the squares, so I don't think too bad timewise. I folded my fabric in 4 layers, so that helped a lot.

Can't help you with the cutter, but I have to say - you're one brave lady!

Jeanie, I've been looking on the sizzix website and cannot find that die. Can you find the link for it! Thanks! Laura

Thanks so much. I didn't realize it was an older one. I actually think my daughter may have one. :-)

YES! I made this quilt for ds, and the strip cutter was amazing. I could get 8 strips per use of the ruler, then turn the ruler and get 6 squares across the strips, 4 layers deep. So each use of the ruler gives you 192 squares. Since most of the pieces are 1/4 yard cuts, it works perfectly. The squares were much more accurate than my first few using just a regular ruler. I bought mine with a 50% off coupon at ja's.

Did you count them or just cut all your fabric? You will end up with a ton of extra squares if you cut it all down. But glad you got it done! Good luck! It's quite a project but the end product is soooo worth it. Ds loves his, and it fits so perfectly on a twin size better.

I counted, but not exact, just an estimate based on how many I could get per row and will need for the quilt (i added them up). I did not cut all the fabric though.

I've fused 6 blocks, sewn 1 and sewn the horizontals on 5. The worst part is cutting open the seam allowances so I can press.

I love my accuquilt, as I love to applique. I do have several geometric shapes for the accuquilt, and I am in the process of purchasing more. I find it is my quilting must have.

Skittl, what project are you doing? Would love to know which pattern.

I didn't fuse mine, I chain pieced the rows vertically all together then sewed horizontally same as she did. Then I snipped the thread from the chain piecing and pressed open. It's definitely worth it to press open, it makes it lay so nice and flat, especially after its quilted. But I agree, it's pretty tedious. There is a blog on oh Fransson where she uses a similar method for her postage stamp quilts, and she rotary cuts her folds off. It might be worth trying?

eta: hmmm.. It's not there. I may have read it in the comments? Now I'm curious so I will do some more reading.