Marking Accuqilt dies
 

STUPID QUESTION ----- What is the purpose of marking the accuquilt dies?

To help see the markings so you don't waste fabric. The newer dies however do not need to be marked since they now come out two tone in color. Using a magic marker and marking the lines/design helps in placing fabric and not wasting so much of it.

i trace a 1/4 inch around the outside of the die to tell me at a glance where to place and how big the piece of fabric needs to be..

the new dies are two toned but i still make my markings around the blades..

Also, you want to mark your long strip dies with a true perpendicular line so you can correctly place the fold of your fabric and avoid "V" strips. If you have a studio cutter, use a metallic colored sharpie.

I mark the strip dies to make squares. I cut the strips then layer and recut squares. The same size as the strips of course. 2 1/2" strip die, makes 2 1/2" squares. I've never had the V cut in my strips so I don't mark for that.

Why is there a need for the metallic colored sharpie for the Studio?. I use a regular black sharpie to mark them like I do the GO dies and it works well. I also have never had a V cut in my strips so not sure what that is about.

WOW! Your eyes must be much better than mine! I cannot see a line marked with a black marker on the black foam of the studio dies, so I use a metallic sharpie. Also, I ordered all my strip cutter dies in the narrower format. You get fewer cuts, but I don't precut or square up my fabric and the narrow die lets me put the excess fabric in the tray. Because I don't square the fabric up first, I mark a line to keep everything straight, especially the first cut.