Ripping will tell you if you have good made fabric! If not, the fabric will stretch and be worse off then before ripping and you'll lose six or more inches getting it straight.

I also use mat with slits, I have two of them, a large and an extra large. It makes cutting multiple strips a breeze, but when I only need one or two strips, I use the ruler.

The june taylor has been a big help to me in cutting strips straight....

AND, what IF you don't wash and dry them and they shrink after your quilt is all beautifully done if you haven't heavily quilted it? I shudder to think of what the outcome would be and I don't want my quilts to look puckered up after all that work.[/QUOTE]

True about fabric not being square enough off the bolt most of the time.....when I work with yardage, I will rip the end to get a straight, if it is way off, I will have someone hold two corners, I hold two and we diagonally pull on that fabric to get it straight, then even off that edge........as far as washing/drying.........first I will say I do not "wash/dry" all my fabric...if there is one I am in doubt of, I will cut off a piece, put in a cup of hot water and see if it bleeds, if so, I will replace it with another. I can't see the sensibility of "washing/drying" in washing machine and dryer....waste all that water, use all that electricity....our quilting sisters of the past just cut and sewed....and the puckers are the quilt's kisses!!!! JMHO

I use the June Taylor Shape Cut Plus. It is quick and easy! You can cut pieces for a quilt in no time. It is a little pricey, but well worth it. I use mine all the time.

June Taylor's ruler is the best for strip cutting.

Do you have a rotary cutter and mat? The trick, using the rotary cutter and mat is in the folding of the fabric. When you fold the fabric for cutting, pinch each fold...all along the edge of the fold, smoothing away from the fold as you go...you want to keep the folds inside right against the outter fold...if you don't, you get waves/jogs in the strip. I first press out the fold that is from the material being on the bolt (it's not always straight), then I fold from selvage to selvage, matching the selvages as close as I can, smoothing away from the fold as I go, this gives me a 20" width to cut width of fabric strips. If I need to, I fold a 2nd time fold to selvages...pinching along the new fold to make sure the inside fold stays right at the outter fabric..that's the key...keep the inside fabric right at the outside fabric at the fold. This gives me about 10-11" width of fabric to cut. I try to do about a yard at a time because I have limited cutting space. Even if I am doing binding...I cut width of fabric (there is a bit of give). I rarely do bias binding.

If I need to cut borders, say 100" long... I fold the fabric cut edge to cut edge..smooth and press the fold. I then fold again...and that gives me 25" length...I use my 24" ruler to cut the strips...I first line the edge of the ruler with the folded edge of the fabric...and cut off the selvage on the side I'm going to get the borders from...then I again check by pinching that all the inside folds are against the outer fold (again, that is the key to no waves in the cut)..and cut my borders...making sure to stop, move my hand up, cut, stop, move my hand and the ruler up, cut..only cutting where the reach of my hand is..that's all the control of the cut that you have. Since I started doing this...I get nice straight cuts. Once you learn the process..you get better as you go...it will be 2nd nature.

Remember, when cutting jelly rolls, it's width of fabric (44" or so). If you are using a scissors to cut strips...mark with chalk and cut on the outside of the line...that's where the ruler line is.

If I know I have a good cotton fabric (don't throw stuff at me)...I tear the fabric. Some top printed fabrics (especially dark prints) do not do well with tearing them...the white base will show through. Once I have the fabrics torn, I spray with water, let them rest and press the strips...pressing them damp, pressing from the center out to the torn edges will, if it's good cotton fabric, reset any distortion from the tearing. If the fabric has any polyester in it..this does not work well at all.

Ripping fabric is not always a good idea. For one thing, ripping damages fabric up to 2 inches away from the rip. Some of this damage is microscopic, meaning you cannot see it unless you examine the fabric under a microscope. After ripping, it's a good idea to slice off at least 1 inch of fabric so you are not sewing seams on damaged fabric.

Ripping along the lengthwise grain is not as bad as ripping along the crosswise grain. There is not as much distortion and damage along the lengthwise grain. That is why I will rip fabric when I need long pieces for borders (although I make the strip wider and still trim the ripped edges to get rid of any damage before using the pieces).

Straight-of-grain is really important in dressmaking because grain affects how the fabric drapes on the body. It has a different role in quilting, in that grain primarily affects edges -- and how much handling an edge can take before it becomes distorted. A bias edge, for example, will stretch out of shape much more easily than an on-grain edge when piecing. A bias edge is preferable for turned-under applique because it will turn under more easily on a curve than a straight-grain will.

Just sayin'.........

Another vote for the June Taylor Shape Cut rulers...the reliable way to cut straight strips.

Ha-ha-ha! I have no idea why anyone would go to the trouble of pulling threads. I do unfold fabric, press, align selvedges, and then re-press any fabric that is not flat at the fold when purchased. I also don't buy fabric that is obviously twisted or stretched. I do use a 24" ruler to cut ends straight. Then I cut my pieces. When working with scraps ( as I do VERY frequently), close enough is close enough. I do not prewash, I do not starch. Guess what? No problems. Perfect straight of grain is a myth in my book anyway.

I have a long 24" clear ruler that's 5" wide and has a lip that hooks at the edge of my cutting mat so i know i'm always keeping my cuts straight as long as I've lined up the fabric on the selvage. I was looking for one for a friend who's new to quilting and I couldn't find another. :( That said, I'm not the worlds most precise quilter as I think this is something that's my stress reliever, it's not supposed to add stress, so I don't freak if something isn't perfect. These are homeade, works of art, they're not supposed to look like a machine made them. (just my opinion)

I prewash, press even up ends and then using grid mat, I cut carefully on ruler edge with SHARP rotary blade. I also have the grace ruler with the edge that the cutter rolls along w3hichI use sometimes, but most of the time its just me and the olfa mat and cutter.

Altos Quilt Cut 2 allows you to cut accurate strips very quickly. Also we use Tru Cut electric blade sharpener on our rotary blades. Cutting with a sharp blade is more accurate.

Thank you Prism99, I just purchased the June Tailor Shape Cut Plus from Amazon. At $25 it is free shipping and cheaper than JoAnn's on sale but only online and a shipping charge. I look forward to using it. I find I have to be careful cutting strips as I tend to go off to the right unless I cut from top to bottom which apparently is not the way to cut with the rotary cutter but it works for me.

I just bought a June Tailor Shape Cut from Walmart.com for 17.97 plus tax and had it shipped to the nearest store. There is a 0.97 shipping charge if sent to your home.