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I remember the measuring machines also! Hadn't thought of the forever !! I rip! Best way to get true straight of the grain. When they cut fabric at stores now, it usually isn't straight and you lose fabric and money... imho
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My quilt shop still tears the fabric. I do too if I have a lot of fabric and want to get it down to manageable size for cutting. I have to agree that there is something very satisfying about that ripping noise. I also love the little pop I hear when I seat the knot when I am hand quilting.
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Originally Posted by sandy l
(Post 6677595)
Any one remember So-Fro Fabrics? Ran the fabric thru the measuring "thingy", pressed the lever, and then ripped it at the cut.
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Originally Posted by tropit
(Post 6676374)
OK...just for the record....I AM NOT OLD AS DIRT...LOL. I too, remember those measuring thingys with the dial that went round and round as the clerk pulled the fabric through it and then snipped it. The cottons that I bought were always snipped on that machine and then ripped. The clerk usually added a couple of inches for, "good measure." I also loved those brass, grooved insets on the cutting table that helped the clerk to make sure that the other types of fabrics were cut straight. I'd love to have one of those, "groovy," things in my own sewing table.
Oh...and as for your question, yes, you can rip both ways and it will leave nice, straight, edges. Just be sure that your print pattern isn't off, as fabrics are not always printed exactly on grain. ~ Cindy |
Originally Posted by Gerbie
(Post 6677622)
Cheshire, I'm older than dirt too- guess one could say I'm a fossil, because I remember when fabric was seldom cut by the clerks. Now even with a groove in the cutting table, most clerks cut the fabric crooked, and I think so much of the fabric is rolled onto the bolts crooked to begin with.
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Originally Posted by lpepperl
(Post 6675662)
I'm new to quilting and adding a border that needs to run in a specific direction. My question is, can fabric be torn/ripped in both directions, selvage to selvage and parallel to the selvage??
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I remember when those nip-and-rip devices came into use as the new and wonderful improvement, but I don't think I'm very old! Since they would only work effectively on tightly woven cottons, of course they became obsolete when perma-press and polyester double knits became so popular. It was even difficult to find 100% cotton fabrics for many years, until quilting came back into vogue.
As for ripping, I spent a while trimming scraps into blocks at my last Linus Project group meeting, and those ripped edges on some pieces were downright annoying! I've tried ripping a few times in recent years and was always disappointed in the way the fabric seemed to end up crooked anyway, since it had been printed on skewed griege goods and wrapped still another way on the bolt, and no amount of pulling, washing, wetting, stretching or ironing would put "humpty dumpty" back together again. |
Originally Posted by donnamcr
(Post 6677551)
Oh my goodness, I had entirely forgotten about those measuring devices at the store. Thanks for the memory!
Do you remember when large department stores always had a Fabric and Notions department? I do, like Penney's, Sears, Payless, etc. Actually, it wasn't all that long ago, it was when I was raising my kids... |
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