I've also been having this trouble too. Thanks for the tips. I might get to cut my strips without them looking too much like a boomerang in future.

I never thought of that. Thanks, I will try it. Another thing we used to do in home ec, back in the dark ages - we would pull diagonally on our piece (opposite corner to corner) and that will help square it.

This is a wonderful tip that is never covered! As a quilt teacher, I use this all the time....

You need to look at the BOTTOM of teh fabric as you shift the top layer left/right ... when it appears to fall straight, your threads are likely straight.

Also, check to insure that you are not angling your rotary cutter either toward OR away from the ruler. This can cause waviness in the edge, too.

Make a very narrow trim cut to remove any excess, then if you want to check, make a cut about 1/4" wide from this trim cut. oopen it out and look at the fold(s) for the dreaded v's and w's. If there are none, you're good to go. If you see some, you need to do the "hang test" again until it comes out straight.

HTH,

Odessa

I never wash my fabric. You can iron out the center crease with Best Press. Then hold your fabric by the selvedges until it hangs in a nice straight U. The cut end may or may not match. The other thing you need to do is make sure your rulers is at a 90° angle to the folded edge.

I watched that video tutorial, thanks for posting it.

I do my cutting with the ruler really differently than she does! I have my fabric folded in half twice, because my mat is only 18x24, but I overlap the 0 on my mat a little bit, line my clear ruler up with that 0 and cut there to get my fabric even. Then I look for say the 5 on my cutting mat, line my ruler up with that 5 and then cut to the right of the ruler, where it looked like she was using the 5 on the clear ruler to see where to cut. But I'm also sliding my ruler from right to left, instead of left to right like she was doing.

Every time I've tried to use starch I end up with a coating on the bottom of my iron!

Let the starch really soak in , I walk away for at least 15 minutes, sometimes overnight. it may be dry ( if left overnight), but the starch will be in the fabric not on the iron.

I slide mine the same as you do( that part is personal preference). I had a mat the same size as yours and I made more V and W cuts because I could not always see the lines as well. It is important when you are lining up the fabric on the mat to have it line up all the way down the line ( when you first put it on the mat , if your mat is 24 inches use as much of the mat to make that first "line -up". Using only a few inches really can get the fabric off - of a "true" straight.

I sure remember doing that in Home Ec.! I still do it now if it needs to be done. Lots to be said for the dark ages.LOL

After I do the 'lining up' thing with the selvage and before I fold in half again (fold to selvage) I hold my fabric by the pressed fold and shake a little bit. This helps the fabric get the true grain. Then I lay on the cutting mat, fold in half again. I also am able to cut with both hands and never use the lines on my cutting mat. I cut my first strip with my left hand with the ruler line on the fold and the edge to cut, then switch to cutting with my right hand and do the same thing. I line up one of the lines on the ruler with the fold line and the cut edge with the width I need to cut my strip/block.

Clear as mud? I'll try and get some pics up this weekend to help.