When you have a new piece of fabric and it has been washed and ready for pressing, do you press the selvedges first? Mine always seem to come out wrinkled. Also, I have 4 l/2 yards of fabric that I am going to cut into strips for the main strip in a 3 strip pattern, if I cut the fabric into more manageable sizes, such as l yard increments, would this be okay rather than trying to wrestle with all 4 l/2 yards at once?

You can cut it any way you want, but I would start by only cutting one piece off at a time (1 yard or 2 yard piece). Cut the selvages off after pressing...more accurate fold. That's my advice. :-)

I have clipped the selvedges to get them to lay down, and have also cut them off before pressing. If they don't lay down nicely, it will throw off your cuts :D:D:D

If cutting them helps, no problem :wink: but if you are talking about stash fabrics, I would prefer to leave them whole. :D

If the selvages shrank - I clip them to the "regular fabric part" so the edges can spread. Then the piece will press "flat"

It is much easier to work with shorter lengths of fabric.

HOWEVER - check the directions for border lengths before cutting the long length into more manageable pieces.

I also prefer to have "stash fabric" in longer lengths.

If the directions call for a 60 inch border - I would allow at least 62 inches for wiggle room. I'd rather cut off a couple of inches of border than be 1/4 inch short.

I prefer to leave the clipped selvages on the big piece - but I do cut off the selvages on the individual strips or units.


That said, I usually have "ample" fabric on hand - but I can "make do" as well as the next one if I need to.

i always cut the salvage edges off - thats the only way to square up the fabric and get a clean cut- the salvages are a tighter weave and can cause alot of puckering/pulling--being a different weave than the rest of the fabric causes uneven shrinkage