Help with cross-grain cutting?
 

I’m hoping someone(s) can give me some pointers on this. I’m about to cut fabric on the cross grain for binding strips, and I’m remembering how terrible I am at lining up selvages so that my strips come out straight and even. No matter how many posts and tutorials I read and watch, I seem to find it impossible to actually line things up properly so that my cut fabric strips don’t end up with weird bends in the middle. I’m looking for help on how to line up selvages better so that my cut strips have straight and perfectly (or close enough) parallel edges along the long sides.

Or am I worrying too much – do you find it acceptable to have a little wobble in your long cut edges ?

Thank you for any help you might have to offer!

Judy

For a very long time I always had the V shape in my strips no matter how I tried. Then discovered that my ruler was not straight, causing the weird bend or V shape. Try a different ruler. I fold the fabric in half and then half again. Sometimes it just is not possible to line the fabric from selvage to selvage. Just get it close as you can. A little wiggle shouldn't be to much of a problem for the binding.

Salvage edges are woven tighter than the fabric yardage, often causing them to not be straight/ even. Start with cutting off the salvages so you have straight edges. Fold your fabric in half once making sure your fold is straight. Placing the fold on a line of the cutting mat remember the fold is your straight edge, don't fuss with the raw edges. The straight fold edge is the part that is important. Place your 45* (degree) line of your ruler on the fold and cut your strips.

It is important the the ruler is a the absolute right angle to the fold to prevent V's. Before cutting your strips, line up the selvages and fold the fabric to meet the selvages. Place a large square on the double fold and this gives you the right angle for ruler cutting. After trimming, you can start cutting your strips but check with the square to make sure you are holding your ruler at the proper angle. Here are pictures[ATTACH=CONFIG]560547[/ATTACH]

Now that the edge is straight, I can start cutting 2-1/4 inch binding strips off but check each time with my square that I am holding my skinny ruler at the perfect right angle to the double fold edge.[ATTACH=CONFIG]560548[/ATTACH]

If you Google continuous bias binding there are several good videos showing how to do it and not have a lot of wasted fabric. Good luck;0)

Thank you!!!!!!!!

I have never tried cutting off the selvages before, and will definitely follow that and all your other helpful suggestions. Yes that pesky V-shape is one of my Achilles' heels. But with your help, maybe I can do better this time!

Am I missing something? I did not think the original post was asking about bias binding strips.

Tartan is exactly right. As long as your ruler is perpendicular with the fold in the fabric, you will not get the V. It won't matter if your selvedges aren't lined up perfectly straight.

As others have posted, the key to cutting straight strips is having your ruler *exactly* perpendicular to the fold. To help understand this, fold some pieces of typing paper and then use your ruler and rotary cutter to cut strips. Try cutting a strip with the ruler slightly tilted from the fold, then unfold the paper. You will find the "V" shape at the fold. Then try cutting a strip *making sure* that the ruler is exactly perpendicular (90 degrees) from the fold. To do this, you make sure that the fold is exactly on a line in your ruler. It helps to use two rulers, so one is lined up with even more of the fold; your cutting ruler should be butted up against the other one, and a line on your cutting ruler should also be on the fold. Your resulting strip should have no "V" at the fold.

The further off your ruler is from the fold, the bigger the "V" will be in your strips. Varying your cuts on paper will show you how this holds true.

I like to keep the selvages on for a while (I do NOT include them in any seams) - so I can tell which is the lengthwise and crosswise grain. I just snip the selvages at intervals so that the fabric lays flat.

I find that keeping the selvage info attached is useful.

I, too thought she meant bias when she used the term "cross grain". I re-read it and understand what she means.

I, too ignore the selvage, although I don't cut it off. If you'll watch some videos on straightening fabric, you may see what some are talking about. Few fabrics are straight with the selvage, especially these days.

This will help you understand the point of ignoring the selvage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXBFfRjG8f0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF60qVY83j4

Once the fabric is straight, the V will disappear.

bkay

No clue why I interpreted cross grain as diagonal :0). Maybe a senior moment!! Or an FYI nobody wanted?

No, I did the same as you, thought bias binding at first. But after reading a couple of responses I went back and reread it. :thumbup:

I had issues with the dreaded 'v' in my cross-cuts for a long time. I asked one of the employees at my LQS (who is an excellent quilter and teaches their binding class). What she demo'd for me was to take your piece of fabric, folded selvage to selvage and hang it in front of you. Wiggle it sort of side-to-side to get any 'poofiness' (my term, not hers) / bubbles out of the hanging fabric. This helps to ensure that your fabric is 'on grain'.

For me, I find this works best with pre-washed fabric as you don't have the manufacturer's pressed fold and it makes the piece flexible and easier to find that 'on grain' appearance. I then lay that mostly straight piece of fabric on my ironing surface (I use my cutting table with towels as an ironing surface) and smooth the fabric from the fold to the selvage as well as the cut edges until it lays flat. I then press the folded edge. I don't care if the selvages line up - they generally won't. I then move the piece to my cutting mat and line my ruler exactly square on the folded edge. Trim off the uneven side and then measure my cuts from there.

Since I've been using this process - truly no more 'v' in my strips!

If your fabric edge lines up with the vertical line on the ruler, and your fabric fold lines up with a horizontal line along the bottom of the ruler, your cut will be straight. If one of these doesn't line up, your cut will be crooked. I find that often after a few cuts, I have to refold my fabric and re-trim the edge.

You are not alone in having this problem. It can be very frustrating. I now check to see if I have a V after every couple of cuts. If I find I'm having a V, I re-straighten my fabric. Because now straightening my fabric results in the edges not being evern, make the next cut about 1/4 of an inch wider, then trim back that strip back to the correct size. Yes, it does waste a tiny bit of fabric, but it works for me.

I remove the selvages and spray starch and iron my fabric. I use a dot of Elmer's glue stick glue every 2 inches or so to keep the selvages from slipping.

I always trim off the selvages before I cut anything and that way I am sure it doesn't end up in a seam somewhere.

Am I the only one who rips then irons to get the grain right? I am kin of surprised that so many people are using the described technique. Maybe I will give it a try. I am such a bugger about straight of grain! I think that a straight grain helps in reducing the ravel in the seam allowances.

Ripping damages fabric up to 2" from the rip. This damage may not be visible to the eye, but it is clear under a microscope. The damage is less when ripping on the lengthwise grain, more when ripping on the crosswise grain. This is one reason why I don't rip quilting fabric (except occasionally long border strips or backing fabric).

To be honest, I don't care that much about grain, except when I'm working with bias. As long as your ruler is exactly perpendicular to the fold, your fabric will not have a V cut, no matter which direction the grain is going.

I could never quite get the hang of it so I bought a ShapeCut ruler. Since you make the first cut on the 0" mark, all the strips are perfectly parallel.

Thanks so much for everyone's help -- a few new/different approaches to try! I've only tried the "hold fabric by selvages and slide/wiggle selvages until it hangs without twist or wrinkle" method, but that's how I get my "V" cuts despite my best efforts. It just seems so imprecise to me. I'll see if I can do better with your suggestions,

I try to be precise with grain as well. If I'm dealing with a large/long piece of fabric at times I'll rip but if I'm dealing with smaller subcuts typically I do not. I'm more likely to do that with home dec fabrics than quilting fabrics simply because I'm usually dealing with smaller pieces. But backings in particular that I have to manipulate in various ways, I'll definitely rip.

Grandmother taught me to do it the way you described. (Ripping) I find that many fabrics these days are not printed to match the grain and the cutting at the store is not always straight (not a criticism...just the way it is)...and I lose too much fabric by ripping.

I got tired of aligning up the ruler more precise then surgery required. I bought a Go die cut.

McG, you need to understand that "straight of grain" and cutting strips without the dreaded "V" are two completely different topics. The "hold selvages together and wiggle" method has to do with straight of grain only. It does *not* help eliminate "V" bends when cutting strips.

The *only* thing that matters when cutting strips is making sure that your ruler is positioned *exactly* 90 degrees from the fold. Your fabric can be folded on the straight of grain, off the straight of grain, even folded at true bias -- and you can still cut perfectly straight strips. Wiggling selvages together makes no difference.

Practice with pieces of typing paper. Fold the paper any way you like -- exactly in half, at weird angles, whatever. Then cut strips from the folded paper. Notice how, the more tilted the ruler is from the fold, the deeper the "V". The entire trick to getting straight cuts from folded fabric is the positioning of your ruler in relation to the fold. This applies even to the Accuquilt die cutter. In order to achieve strips without a "V", you must position the fold of the fabric accurately in relation to the cutting edges.

Actually, I think it's the opposite. Strips cut on the true bias ravel less than strips cut on the straight grain. I believe crossgrain ravels more than lengthwise grain, but they both ravel. In my experience, the extent of raveling in the seams depends a great deal on the specific fabrics (and on the amount of handling they get). I don't normally get a lot of raveling with my quilting fabrics, but I noticed that my Kaufman Kona black fabric ravels like crazy when I cut it into strips. Solid colors seem to all be made out of a different weave of fabric than regular quilting cottons, so I think that might be the reason.

If you have a scrap of fabric, you might want to try cutting strips on both the grain and the bias, then compare the amount of raveling you get. (I'd do this myself, but I'm too lazy! :p )

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Prism99 (Post 7682371)

The *only* thing that matters when cutting strips is making sure that your ruler is positioned *exactly* 90 degrees from the fold.

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I cannot agree more.

The folds all need to be parallel with each other, also.