Wow, Prism. That's a great explanation! Thank you for taking the time to share what you know!

I made one rag quilt and I didn't prewash it. I normally fold the fabric in half and cut the strips then sub cut the squares. Good Luck. Rag quilts are cozy and snuggle especially in the winter.

i cut strips off the bolt... Anything over a 2 yards i roll onto bolts.

This is what I do as well. I don't have a tremendous area to work with so I'm constantly folding; refolding; re-ironing. I will also sometimes chop off a slightly larger chunk and cut down if I'm working on blocks and then need the balance for borders/sashing/something else. Put the bulk away and then go back to it later.

I cut my fabric into a smaller amount/size determined by the size of the blocks I need.

Well are you going to use any of this fabric for a border? I sort of plan out my fabric for cutting like I was taught almost 20 yrs ago. If you have a 36" mat fold your fabric into 3rds length wise and then I use a 48' T-square that I stole from my dh. Less chance of wavy borders that way.

I definitely wash flannel. I just never know how much shrinkage there will be, unless I'm using it as a receiving blanket. Then I'll crochet an edging and wash after. No real reasoning behind that other than I'm usually in a hurry to get the edging finished so am in a hurry to get it started! As for the cutting fabric, I never cut it until I'm ready to use it. If I have purchased for a specific project I'll cut the pieces to size at the time. What I have found is I seem to have to re-square up a piece after every 3-4 strips and hate to waste any.

I follow dunstar's method (post #6) when I am dealing with a large piece of fabric. I have arthritis in both shoulders and this is just so much easier for me.

I agree with gale - I would fold the fabric twice lengthwise, then accordion fold the fabric so it could be cut into 6" strips, then sub cut into 6" squares.

Thanks for asking this question, I've had trouble handling large cuts of fabric. And the posts about the straight of grain were very informative.