First I must say I was very anxious about doing this and should probably have done it with uglier fabric, but the deed is done.

Not impressed.

My straight line is crooked and wavy so now I have to cut more off to make it lay straight. It curles in about 1/2" so that's about 3" I just wasted. I didn't prewash. The selvedge lines up with the other side but not the side I ripped.

Now that this has totally left me shaking my head, I'm going for even more controversial techniques. I'm going to cut my 2-7/8" in strip before ironing, just hand-pressing the wrinkles away. I'm then going to starch the strip with Niagara that I just bought. I'm not going to pre-wash. Just going to cut and sew and press as I go.

I'll let you know how it goes.

I just ripped a piece and lost about 2 1/2 inches across from one side to the other. I did iron it when I was done that helped.

My question: How can it be that much difference on a 44" wide piece?

you should never try to straighten your fabric by the salvage edges- salvages need to be removed- they are never straight- and the tighter weave will (pull) everything out of whack.

it is normal to loose 2-5" of fabric when you rip it along the grain- the fabric can easily be that far out of whack from the manufacturing process.- edges always fray/curl a bit where you rip- it is important to then press line up a ruler and cut a nice (straight grain) cut.

what you are doing is (quite interesting) i will look forward to see how this comes out- sounds like it would be a pretty cool- scrappy/skewy quilt

A brief explanation of grain lines is in this:

http://sewing.about.com/od/beginner1/p/fabricgrain.htm


I've found it helpful to wash fabrics before cutting for many reasons -

but one of the more useful ones is that the fabric will end up "doing what it wants to" after it has been washed. Sometimes it seems to "straighten out" - and then one can see how off-grain it had been on the bolt - sometimes it has been processed so it wants to stay off-grain.

(Think of what happens to "the girls" when the bra is removed :? )

I've learned that the ones that are still off-grain after washing want to be that way. Then I usually use them "as is" - and then decide if I want to make that first cut along the lengthwise or crosswise grain.

I've also learned to check for grain line on fabric before purchasing it. Every once in a while I forget - and regret it!

I have found that you either have straight of grain length wise or cross wise, but not both. The way the fabric is rolled onto the bolt it gets pulled off grain. You will need to tug cross wise to get both to be on grain. I stopped worrying about cross grain and go by length....

Also, DON'T cut before starch! If your fabric is gonna' shrink any at all it will when you get it wet with the starch and iron.... Also, I do not recommend just hand pressing the torn edges before cutting. I don't think you will like the results with your current plan.

I, too, will be following your process and watching for your results with great interest.


Once in a while one does get a wonderful piece of fabric that is "close to perfect" - and it is almost impossible to mess it up.

If that is a beginner's first experience - then it would be difficult to convince him/her that any of these other steps are necessary/useful.

A bit like a someone hitting a big jackpot the first time they put a quarter into the slot machine.

KarenR - I don't understand your question. ??

ckcowl - not sure how to take that comment...

Out of anything I have ever read on quilting, the authors don't seem to agree on how to prepare, cut, iron, sew, or bind a quilt. Or they agree on the basics but there really are not details.

Seems to me there really aren't any "rules" and maybe there doesn't need to be.

Seems to me that what it comes down to is when the end result is what you were going for then how you got there is your recipe.

Yeah, I'm going with that.

oh, so should you cut the selvedges off before prewashing?

Thats why you always buy more than you need for your project. If you cut it so close that you worry about a few inches of fabric you'll be disappointed every time. I learned a long time ago to buy at the very least a 1/2 to a full yard more than I needed because when I didn't I regretted it. The up side to that is...I have a very cool stash. =)

When you cut you never line up the selvages but the fold. You slide the selvages until the fold is straight and then even your edges. Sometimes the selvages are way off sometimes their not. It happens with LQS fabric as much as with the bargain fabrics.

NOOOOO