Trouble with 'dog legs' when cutting strips - help?
 

It seems like no matter how careful I try to be, I end up with 'dog legs' in my cut strips about half of the time!!
What am I doing wrong, please?

What are dog legs?

if your talking about the "bow" in the fold ~ you have to make sure to make sure the fold is straight and not so much the selvage edges. There is a Fon's & Porter Rotary Cutting "primer" Book that I first saw this in. It was a light bulb moment for me. And I rarely ever have bowlegs anymore.

If the fold is on straight of grain and lined up with a grid line on your cutting mat and you cut at a 90º angle to the fold, you will not have bends in your strips...ever.

three word solution: June Tailor's "Shapecut". Check it out on her website. It's got slots every half inch (some models have quarter inch increments) where you run your rotary cutter up those slots. I love it and only regret I have is that I bought the 12" instead of the 18" so I just fold the fabric smaller before positioning the Shapecut over it.

I agree with PPM - June Tailor Shapecut has made a big difference in all my cutting, but especially the strips.

This was a great thread! Thanks!

Dog legs are created when the cut is not exactly 90 degrees from the fold. You can verify this by folding and cutting some pieces of paper! The June Tailor shape cut mat helps make straight cuts because you line up a line on the mat with the fold of your fabric so that you have the correct 90-degree angle.

Thank you all so much!! I will try the suggestions and book. I always appreciate how wonderful this board is!!

you need to make sure the ruler is lined up with the fold. One teacher recommends you realign about every 6" of cut.
As long as your ruler is lined up with the fold you will have straight cuts. If you are cutting 2.5" strips then re adjust about every 2 or 3 cuts and straighten the side if you need to before making the next cut. Your fold can be crooked but as long as the ruler is straight with the fold you will get straight cuts.

I recommend the June Tailor Shapecut ruler also. It has improved my cutting straight strips. It is worth the investment. I used a coupon to buy mine.

I must be an oddball because I have more trouble WITH the June Tailor Shapecut than without.

In order to cut full width fabric, I have to fold it twice (once as we normally do an then again so it will fit the ruler) and can't seem to get both folds situated just right to avoid a dog let. If I'm subcutting the strips into small pieces, it's not an issue but if I were to use the strips for borders or other longer purposes, it would be.

Any hints to help me?

Thanks,
Cathy

I always make sure my ruler is even with the selvage. And realign every few cuts. Sometimes, I have to recut from the other side.

Thanks for the info, I'll have to try one of these myself.

I looove my June tailor cutter!!!

My best hint is to purchase the bigger Shapecut so you only have to fold once! I agree that it's tricky if you have to fold twice, because both folds have to be exactly paralell to one another.

This video was my life saver: Leah Day, the great FMQ queen gives a great demo here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcpzwJMVTbc

It made such a difference to me :D

This is why I got the Go and strip dies. Perfect strip cuts everytime and no fussy measuring or lining up edges. I know I have wasted more fabric cutting out the bow in strips then the Go cost. LOL.

The most important factor is how the fabric is folded in half as RkayD says. Not at all familiar with the Fons & Porter book mentioned but one of the ladies at my LQS was cutting strips one day early in my quilting career. And she's excellent. I asked her how she managed that. She showed me her technique for folding to make sure the fold is on the straight. I've adapted a bit but basically start with fabric selvage to selvage. Look for a 'bubble' (easiest done if you're a pre-washer and after ironing). I lay the fabric flat on my cutting table with the fold closest to me and then smooth out the 'bubble'. At that point the selvages will not line up but your fabric will be folded straight. Trim off the wonky end and start measuring from there. Haven't had an issue since.

You beat me to it Holice! I think I even got this tip here on the board a while back! Since lining up my ruler with my fold, I haven't had one single wonky strip. I also use the June Taylor shape cut sometimes and I make sure I line it up with the fold too.

I fold twice and use the june tailor strip cutter...the crux of the problem is not folding along the grain...get rid of the selvedges, they will put the fabric off-grain, and then hold the fabric up in the air, folding raw selvedge edges together...if a 'fold' is showing, off-kilter, then align the raw edges till it hangs straight...for the fold to lie straight is more important than for the ends to be even...move the sides till the fold is flat. Now fold in half again and do the same thing...they must hand straight when folded to cut straight. Now line up the bottom fold on a line of your cutting mat...lay strip cutter on top and line up the big black line even with the bottom fold line.... cut as many strips as you like, if the folds were straight, the strips will be straight. When cutting several pcs of cloth, i offset them by 1/2" or so... then they will cut better and straighter. it also allows you to go 'up and over' the folded edge so they will not cause you to go offline. I love this tool so much, I bought the 36" version when it was on sale just so i didn't have to move it so often... I use it ALL the time...

june tailor shape cut- its all i use for any size strips!! always straight!!
good luck
katz

This works for me, too, even though it really goes against my grain (ha, ha) since I learned the "pull-a-thread" method for squaring up fabric back in the old days when home ec was taught in school. It irks me to lose the wonky end pieces.

I don't understand what is ment by lineing up the ruler on the fold. Please explain further.
Thanks

press the fold so there is no bumps in the edge and then place the ruler so one of the lines will line up with the fold. This will give you an accurate 90 degree straight edge with the fold.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Here is a link to a tutorial. About midway down the page is a very clear photo of a ruler that is lined up with the fold. Hope this helps!
http://www.purlbee.com/rotary-cutter-tutorial/

There's a 36" version?? Where did you find it?

I went looking for it and the largest I could find was a 20x23" but it only cuts 2 1/2" strips. I have the Shape Cut Plus which cuts 12" strips but allows you to cut across 18" of fabric.

Thanks,
Cathy

I want to thank you all for the great ideas, and a special thank you to Izy for the suggestion to watch the Leah Day video.
This is a wonderful group and always willing to help those of us who are new to the quilting world. Your kindness is overwhelming!!!!
janie

I align with the cutting mat line at the fold, but I also re-check it at every cut, and I verify my eyeballing the fold lineup against the mat by lining up with my 12" sq ruler shoved against the cutting ruler. When I go to cut I slide it sloooooowwwwwly and gently away from the cutting ruler. I also use a binder clip on the far end of the ruler so it doesn't slip that little 1/8 as you get to the end where you are reaching farther and more likely to go astray with the cut.
If my cut did go astray, I re-line it up, then shave it back into a perfect 90 degrees before the next cut.
Whew.

Great replies for an old problem, I get dog legs when I don't realign after 3 or 4 strips. If I slow down I get more done correctly.

You have to be sure that the fabric is lined up on the straight of grain. Many times the edges are not cut evenly at the fabric store. One way to check this out is take a piece of fabric - about 1/2 yard by width of fabric. LIne up the selvedges. Hold the fabric up and grab it with your fingers. Move the selvedges from side to side and look at how the fabric shifts near the center fold. Don't focus on the edges. When the fabric lies perfectly straight without wrinkles you have it lined up correctly. Place the fabric down on the mat, being careful not to shift it. The take a ruler and trim off the edge. Be sure you have the ruler perpendicular to the fold. This should eliminate the "dog leg" or as some people call it, the dreaded "V"

Thanks ladies i too have wondered about this as i always seem to get dog legs you guys are the greatest

I do like the Lea Day video but I add one more fail safe method, I rip down lenghtwise about 1/2 inces in from the selvage. When you fold the edges meet and you wiggle as in the video you will be square.

Totally agree. Except I used a 50% coupon and sprung for the 23" that has cutting slots at 2 1/2" increments so you do not have to do a second fold. It has saved me yards of fabric, not to mention aggravation! JoAnns ships it in a flat cardboard container that is great for storage.

Other helpful tips: I have watched Marianne share with Mary on Fons and Porter to use smaller widths/lengths of fabric to eliminate this problem - so this may be a "partial solution." Another option would be the jelly rolls that are precut. Sharp rotary blades also help. The gripper tool helps with keeping the ruler tight. The small sandpaper discs on the backs of ruler help keeping the ruler from sliding.

You don't need fancy tools or explanations of the technique - Holice has said it all. Best method by far.

I have the large Shapecut and LOVE it! It helps tremendously!

I press the piece so there is no fold down the middle. Then I hold selvage to selvage and adjust it side to side until the piece hangs without wonk. That is the point where I lay it on the cutting mat and smooth it down. I fold the bottom half on the top half aligning with the selvage and trim off the side. I have never had dog legs that way.