New quilter/New to Message Board/Help in cutting squares & using cutting mat.
 

Hi there everyone, I am grateful to sites like this and so many knowledgeable people with wonderful ideas. I am new to quilting and have started my first quilt by learning some online tutorials. Though, i am so lost as to how to use a cutting mat and the cutting squares to cut my fabric squares. How would I cut more than one square at a time. It seems when I do this, they are not all square if I cut multiple layers of fabric at a time for my quilt. Are there any YouTube videos or other tutorials on how to do this correctly?

Thank you in advance! I appreciate any tips and help I can get. My first quilt top is not square at all and I wonder how in the world it will really turn out once I try to put the batting and the backing on. Yie!

Also, my daughter wants a purple backing to this quilt because the black has purple dots in it too, what are your opinions? I was thinking a lighter, brighter backing because of the black. She's set on those neon colors.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]301238[/ATTACH]

For the back I'd piece it using fabrics from the front! I don't think I'd add purple to it as at least in the photo purple doesn't show.

Cutting more than 1 layer......I'll do 2 layers, but no more. I'm not confident enough to do more than 2 and when I do 2 I really hold the ruler down and make sure I have a new blade in my cutter.

Here is a good video showing how to use the ruler and rotary cutter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXGIbHH1Ydo
She has some other beginner videos, also.

Ignore the lines on your cutting mat and use the ruler exactly like the video shows. I have my mat upside down - I like the plain side better. If all fails, look for the June Tailor Shape Cut. You still have to square the fabric and measure carefully, but it does keep the cutter going straight and makes it easy to cut repeats without repostioning.

If your daughter wants purple, then she shall have purple. Don't sweat the little stuff if she in the teen or preteen years and that is little stuff.

I agree if it is her quilt and she wants purple, then purple it should be. I would also bind it in the purple so that there is just a touch of purple showing in the front to blend it all together.

BTW- Welcome to the board and welcome to quilting! Where do you live? There may be board members close by, or a quilting guild that could also lend a hand to help you learn. I'm self taught, but it came from lots of help here, and from co-worker who quilts and several of my customers. I now own my own quilting company but am always learning new things.

Phyllis
QuiltingGrannie
Quilter's Pantry

Welcome to "the family".

Welcome. I agree that if she wants purple she should have it. Just not a real dark purple so it won't just blend with the black.

Welcome. I would purple on the back.

buy a june tailor strip ruler... it has slits every half inch so that you fold straight and WELL and then place the bottom black line on the near fold....now every half inch, you have an opportunity to slice thru the 4 layers of fabric with no ruler movement at all... then move those strips, line up the '0' line with the new raw edge and work away again...the standard is 12" wide and so you have multiple slits before you have to move the ruler. Now either lay one strip (still folded) down, line up the bottom black line again and repeat across to get squares....or much better still.... sew the strips together first....THEN, fold the new 'striped fabric' you just created and put the ruler on it...now when you slice it, you will have your squares all sewn in a long line with less than half the work...learn to line up a straight line with the bottom black line before cutting and you will have perfect squares every time...