I went to the Ricky Tims seminar in January and that's how he cuts his fabric is by tearing it. You should have heard the crowd gasp!!

I prefer it torn because of the straightness. I do press the torn edge before cutting or sewing. Otherwise pulling threads is my other way. Yes cutting you do loose some fabric. Your fabric stores no longer give you any extra fabric, so we have to buy it.

I usually surge he edges then wash, not much fraying that way. Mary

Ripping the fabric ensures that you will get a piece which is cut on the grain - and in my experience, means that I won't have one which means I have to cut off 2-6 inches because it has been cut so crooked that part of it isn't usable. Not everyone does it this way, but it does make sure that you get every inch you pay for.

I will not pay for it if it is ripped
and I tell them this in advance.
J J

I rip..but would perfer anyone else to cut mine..it depends on what it is..you can tell them to cut only and they have too comply!!

The first time I saw a quilting teacher "tear" her fabric, I was astonished, but tearing does give you a true straight edge. However, tearing will leave "feathers", so I prefer to cut my fabric, unless I am using only a partion of a larger piece. Also, if you cut a small triangle off each corner of the fabric before you wash it, you cut down on the "feathers" of threads, and yes I always wash my fabric before I use it. Then when I am procrastinating about starting a new project, I spritz the fabric with a bottle water sprayer and iron away while watching my fabric movie or TV program. You'd be amazed at how quickly it goes when you are not focusing on the ironing.

Depending on the fabric, I see more or less stretch at the rip. I ripped a batik a few nights ago as I didn't want to work with the full four yards in my stash. There was very little stretch and distortion along the edges. Some of the lesser cottons in my stash have not looked good after ripping.

I often rip in order to get a true grain when I'm squaring fabric before cutting.

Cheers, K

It's smart to watch the cutter when buying plaids or ginghams. This morning I was using a plaid that I had bought a few years back. Obviously, I wasn't watching and the cutter hadn't any knowledge about proper cutting. It was totally cut wrong. Now it's in the scrap pile for a different use to come. Couldn't match up one line.

Dear Wanna, My mom was a French seamstress and always tore her fabrics. Then fabric stores started cutting the fabric with sissors, many with out cutting guides, and the cuts were crooked, some used cutting grooves fixed to their table and the ends of the fabric still came out crooked. Tearing fabric may cause a small amount of loss but not as much as crooked cutting lines do...The choice is yours and enjoy your quilting which ever way is most comfortable for you. There are no fabric police either! :-D

It is suppose to be better than cutting but I don't agree with ripping the fabric. I always tell them not to rip!

Back in the last century in home ec, that's how we were taught to do it. Then we folded it in half and if it was not square, we stretched it to make it square so the whole piece was on grain like it should be.

Back in the last century in home ec, that's how we were taught to do it. Then we folded it in half and if it was not square, we stretched it to make it square so the whole piece was on grain like it should be.

It's on the straight of the grain when it's ripped but it is scary to watch.

I can go either way. Out of maybe 100 cuts I might have one that all the edges are even. When I took Home Ec in the 60's we had to staighten our fabric. I do like to tear with the grain for boarders.

when i was young, you could pull the fabric on te bias and straighten it, i it weren't square.....they always tore it.
with poly and blends, i don't try to straighten. i like it cut square, as that is how i will be cutting it for my quilt blocks.
the frayed edge makes you loose some fabric. i hate tearing.
after its been torn, line up the selvages and see how uneven the sides are....some fabrics are straighter than others. if there is a line in the fabric and you can't straighten it, you won't be able to us it for a border and have your border pattern be 'square'

And I would have cheered for him!

Love the cat bed, Jo Mama!

I would prefer that all my cotton be a tear. Blends don't tear straight.

I would prefer that all my cotton be a tear. Blends don't tear straight.

In the old dayas, pre-1970, they alwaysw ripped the fabric. Fabric stores had a little machine, about the size of a shoebox, that they would run the edge of the fabric through, it would measure and then they pushed a button and it cut the edge so it could be ripped. Yes, it is more accurate, but it only works with all cotton. Once they started using poly, you could not use the machines anymore so most places got rid of them.

I decided to try tearing instead of cutting a length of LQS fabric--famous brand--Tore both ends and I can tell you that it never got straight with the selvage. I tried what my mother did--I pulled a thread from selvage to selvage, or at least I tried to. The thread in this fabric didn't go from selvage to selvage. It got lost somewhere in the middle. Since I was using it in quilt blocks, I decided not to worry about it. If I had been using it in a garment, it would have been critical.

I'm not on either side in this discussion. I just think there isn't any hard and fast rule. froggyintexas

Wow I remember the stores always tore the cottons. But I don't remember them having as many loose threads back then. I told Eleanor Burns I remember my Mom tearing the strips for her first Quilt in a Day log cabin. (EB signed Mom's org. book for me wish Mom were here to see it) My Gram said it would never work for a quilt. It took about 6 months but she did get it made.

My mother did this also and trained me to do the same. I usually only tear long strips.

Took a class from quilter Sharon Schamber and she said she tears, especially lengthwise. I prefer tearing and tugging into square, like my Mom did.

This is a pet peeve of mine - - I HATE HATE HATE it when they rip the fabric!!! It messes up the fabric 2 inches from each end, and do they give you an extra 4 inches to account for this? Heck, no! And nobody cares anymore if the fabric is "on-grain." People place patches crooked on plaid on purpose so it WON'T be on grain. And when you're paper/foundation piecing, it never ends up on-grain anyway. So why bother?!

I agree. I am old enough to remember the stores, like Penney's, that used those neat measuring devices and then ripped the fabric. The way so many fabrics are wrapped on the bolts, you lose a lot of fabric when you straighten it.

At lincraft (the large craft store in Australia) they always rip my fabric, and ALWAYS get it wrong by 1-5 inches. I guess because all the part-time workers are teenagers who know nothing about fabric and are just working there by chance. I always base it that if I'm going for the cheaper (like 50% cheaper) fabric from lincraft I use it in-unimportant projects, and keep the quality LQS stuff for when I'm putting a lot of effort in.

I wouldn't mind them ripping if they could just get it right or add extra but oh well

Back in the days, the fabric would be torn instead of cut. That's how I learned too.

I want my fabric square, so I tear it.

Don't they measure the fabric? How do they lose inches?

Yes! I bought a panel that was so skewed there were parts that I could not use. I pulled and pulled but I got mine off the last half of the bolt. Guess all that tearing pulled it all out of whack.

I made the mistake of tearing flannel for one project. That made it much much worse - lost a lot of inches too. So I'll stick to just tearing cottons.

K

Me too !!!!!

gets straight grain of fabric ,have ALWAYS done it.

The best alternative - pulling a thread to get the straight of grain. Doesn't stretch the edges and you still get the straight of grain. And yes.... there ARE some of us who DO still care about of straight of grain ... especially on long pieces like borders.

Here is a link to my tutorial on how to pull a thread.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-114232-1.htm

My Mom also said that back in the old days they ripped the fabric. However, they gave you 4-6 inches OVER your measurement to account for the damaged edges since they have to be cut away. When I go on vacation and visit quilt shops, if they tear fabric, I don't buy any fabric. I've had fabric ruined because of pulled threads a full foot into the fabric pattern. Not worth my time. I have vision damage and can see the grain of the fabric on all but the darkest pieces.

Not a fan of ripping.

I remember when it was always torn and the longarm quilter that set up my longarm, she tore the fabric and said she always tears her fabric and she has been longarm quilting for years and also makes custom ordered quilts. So I have gone back to tearing my fabric for borders, etc., too and I get a straight grain and consistent width every time.

Windsong

most of the flannel I've used is cotton. What are you using? a poly-cotton blend?