Yes, your fingers on the ruler spread and bent...little finger off - on edge to keep from moving - like a spider....then holding rotary cutter straight up, cut firmly, but not pressing hard, and only the area that your fingers are on...stop, keeping cutter in fabric,move hand up ruler and cut that new area....etc.

Most of you will be horrified by my solution to perfect 1/4" seam. Please understand I have severe coordination problems so my solutions need to work everytime I sew. I moved my needle position to be sure both sets of feed dog teeth will be touching the underside as the fabric feeds through, made a note of the position, then measured my quarter inch from there, and using a permanent sharpie fine line, I drew a line all the way to the front edge of the machine. I redraw the line as it wears off. Keeps me from sewing like a drunk, and keeps me from having that damnable curve I kept getting at the end of the line of stitching. Works for me. Bonus, my bindings are much straighter too!

Starch, or use sizing Before you cut your strips. It sounds like you are distorting them after cutting. And to help you stitch your 1/4" seams for a while try drawing the 1/4" line on the strip then sew right along the outside edge of the line. After some time you will find it automatically and won't have to draw it anymore. Although, after 49 years of sewing occasionally I still draw that line. You need to sew along side it, not right on the line- that allows for opening/pressing the seam.

I have found that the 1/4" foot for most machines is not a true 1/4". I went and bought the seam finder that Bonnie Hunter sells on her website (http://quiltville.com/shop.html#!/Se...egory=13129325). It works really well. You place your needle in the appropriate hole for the seam you want and mark your machine with tape or whatever you want.

I now get much more accurate seams than I did with any of my 1/4" feet (Janome or FW).

Awe, don't cry! Go on the "links and resources" forum, and open the posts "Best quilting tips ever by Angela Walters", and watch that video. Maybe better day tomorrow, good luck.

I agree with Fabaddict! It sounded like a problem I used to have and it was because I assumed the fabric was "square" coming off the bolt. If you move the selvages as Fabaddict explained and then square up your fabric, it should help. Then fold your fabric carefully before you cut. This helped me a lot when someone explained it to me. That, and pressing, not ironing. Good luck, you will figure it out!

Is the table that is under your mat flat. Mine is 2 cabinets pushed together back to back. I discovered that one is heavier than the other and has sunk into the carper deeper than the other. Just a slight difference in height, barely noticable. It makes a slight bow in my straight cuts.
Or try asking for help at the LQS.

sounds like you are distorting with your iron. try to just press. don't drag the iron over the piece. they do sell ironing board covers with grid lines on them. might help you to have straight lines to use to line up your pieces. lots of good suggestions in the above responses. don't beat yourself up. relax and enjoy the process.

I have to wonder if your rotary cutter is bad. If it is worn the blade will wobble as you cut. Maybe the little nut needs to be snugged up. Not tight just snug. Anyway what you need in seam allowance is a scant 1/4 in. 1 or 2 threads shy of 1/4 in.. This gives a better finished measurement because the thread and fabric take up space in the seam. Using a scant smaller seam will account for that difference.
Have you tried sewing diagonally across a square to make a 1/2 square triangle? Well if you mark your line exactly on the diagonal and sew on it your resulting square will be smaller then it should be. You need to sew just to the right of your line to get the exact size you want. But I don't like the word exact while piecing. If I make sure everything is exact, well then I don't have anything done. Because exact is mostly unattainable[?] for this craft. I don't know where exact is but it isn't in my sewing room. And for the most part , my quilts are fabulous. And I am positive yours are too. IMHO

Kathy,
I haven't read what others have said, but I have a tip for perfectly straight strips every time. The ruler is not the issue, other than to cut across a 42" or greater fabric, you need the long ruler, 24". Here are the steps.

1. Always cut on the single fold, not double folded. In other words, when you lay your width on the mat, you need a large enough mat to lay it out as it comes, only folded once. When you double fold the fabric (fold it another time to have a smaller width), it is nearly impossible to get straight cuts, no matter how straight it may look.

2. Only cut 2 strips, then do a straightening of the fabric before cutting the next strip. You do this by lining up the fabric on your mat using both the horizontal and the vertical lines. You will find that when you line it up
with the horizontal lines, there will be a sliver of fabric that is over the vertical line. Lay your ruler on that vertical line and cut off the sliver. Then cut 2 more strips and repeat the process. If you do these simple things,
your will have perfectly straight strips every time, no matter how many strips you have cut.

I find that with cutting the border strips, especially for the long side, if you don't want to piece it, measure the width, say 6", then put a snip at the 6" mark, lengthwise the fabric, and tear it to the desired length. I know a lot of people cringe at tearing the fabric, but if you do that for a long length, it will tear straight and your borders
will not be wavy. If you prefer to piece it, cut as many strips as you need to end up with the desired length for the borders. Then, after you piece them together and before you sew them on the quilt, measure the middle width of the quilt, the top measurement, and the bottom measurement. Then take an average of the 3. For instance, if the middle is 45", the top is 46" and the bottom is 46", cut your border strips, 45 1/2". Pin those on the top and bottom, working in the excess on the top and bottom as you pin. After sewing the top and bottom, repeat for the sides, measuring vertically. Pin and sew. If you do this, you will have perfectly straight borders - no waves.

I realize this may sound confusing. If you have any questions, pm me and I will be happy to try to explain better.
I can promise you these simple cutting suggestions, and then measuring for the borders, will yield a perfectly straight quilt every time, and you can wave goodbye to waves forever. :)
Marcia

There are a lot of great suggestions here. I can only add that I've been where you are and it is totally frustrating! Relax! I finally gave myself permission to just do the best I can today and try for better tomorrow. Everything I ever made has mistakes, and I always finish a project knowing that if I make it again, I could do it better because I have found little things while working on it that would help next time. My quilting motto is "Better finished than perfect." I was almost paralyzed by the need for perfection. Each project is a little better than the last and that is all I ask for.

Have you tried the June Taylor shape cutter? It has slits at different intervals to put your rotary cutter in to cut.

I found that the table I was cutting on was sagging in the middle, which made all my cuts just a little off. The plastic table ended up with 3/4" piece of plywood over it to solve that problem. I have also found that if there is more then one fold, my cut pieces can have those lovely dog legs. I always wash my fabrics before I use them (I don't like the chemicals that are used in the warehouses on them), hang the fabric on the clothesline to dry and spray the fabric liberally with starch while the fabric is still wet. I always press the fabric before I cut it. Feline Fanatic is quite right in her answer. Hope you figure out what has caused this reversal of skills!!

If you use an Accuquilt you will get perfect strips. If you then press them and they turn out wavy, you are pressing wrong.

Are you squaring up your fabric before laying it out to cut? I watched a YouTube video on this and it made a tremendous difference. Here is an example of one way to square up your fabric.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSLwhogZk2A

The even surface tip is so important! I'm glad you brought it up. This was a problem for me for quite a while - until it dawned on me that my cutting surface was not flat. I fixed that problem and my cutting has improved.

The other thing I do that improved my cutting of strips - Assuming that you cut across the width of fabric, folded once selvage to selvage, press a sharp crease into the fold. That seems to minimize the curving at the center when I cut.

Lastly, I have learned the hard way that cutting through more than 2 layers of fabric - more than one single selvage to selvage fold - creates uneven cuts and curving. Maybe others can do more than 2 layers at once, but it just doesn't work for me.

The other thing that greatly improved my cutting was to spray baste the bottom of the ruler I use for cutting. The ruler clings to the fabric, so the ruler doesn't slip out of place while I am cutting. Note that I had to rub some of the spray baste off of the back of the ruler immediately after spraying. In some places it was too thick on the ruler. If you don't like the spray basting on your ruler, it can be washed off, but it takes a bit of elbow grease, soap and water or a vinegar/water solution.

The 1/4" foot with no guides works best for me, as well. I have one with a guide, but the guide hid the edge of the fabric so I couldn't tell whether I was sewing a straight 1/4" line.

My sister, on the other hand, loves her 1/4" foot with a guide. We all have to find what works best for us as individuals.

I was wondering the same thing about pressing vs ironing. Have you heard of and tried a steady betty?

Also, this video might help you get an idea of what's happening with your cutting. It could be you are not squaring up before cutting your strips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI8kkFnpwpM