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Quote:

Originally Posted by mpspeedy2 (Post 6492531)

I am a fan of tearing fabric. As quilters who are not necessarily garment sewers we often forget about straight of grain. It makes a real difference in having your fabric lay straight and true. I make a lot of charity pillowcase dresses from gently used sheets. It really annoys me that they are often not made on the straight of grain. I can use the hems already in the sheets if I cut or tear the fabric just right. Often if I tear it I discover that the decorative hem at the top of the sheet was not applied on the straight of grain as the part I tore almost never runs parallel. I worked for about a year in a shop that did custom dressmaking and alterations. I learned a lot there. Creating things taking into account the straight of grain makes a huge difference in the quality of the finished product.

I always tear across the WOF. I know of no other way to square up fabric. If the fabric was origianlly pressed crooked, I'll pull and pull the fabric sideways adn diagonally to get the threads straight again.

Many people would never, ever do this, But it works for me

Quote:

Originally Posted by w1613s (Post 6496387)

I am basically a garment sewer in transition and the one thing I cannot seem to quit doing is pulling a thread and asking DH to help me straighten. (Convincing him the value and the skills of doing THAT is another story.) (Somewhere are a couple of home ec teachers laughing.) I don't do it on the tiny bits because it is easy to see the straight on those. Now I know my compulsion to pull threads may not be the most generally effective.

Finding the straight-of-grain is important for garment sewing because grainlines affect how the garment drapes on the body. With quilts, this is really not an issue.

What *is* an issue with quilts is accurate cutting and accurate piecing. Starch is a much more efficient tool for ensuring these things than pulling threads (and will not damage fabric edges the way that tearing does).

First things first, ALWAYS wash and dry your fabric first. And flannel always gets washed and dried twice. Don't be sad if you find out you have less fabric than you started with. As for cutting, I cut strips then cut into sqs. I'm also able to lay out my yardage in the club house just down the street from our house (most days no one is even in the club house). Good luck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmabrown (Post 6492195)

I have a dumb question, How do you cut your fabric? What I mean is you have say 3yards of fabric and you need to cut it into 6" sqs. Do you cut the fabric into shorter yardage or what? I have a really hard time trying to arrange my fabric to cut it. HELP!!!Told you it was dumb. And do y'all wash you flannel before you make a rag quilt?