Why I gave up on precuts
 

This is so frustrating. I have a Moda honey bun that I'm using to make a couple of doll quilts. I sewed 5 strips together which should have been 5.5" total width and it's 6". Turns out that the strips are over 1.5" wide by just over 1/8". So I had to redo my seam allowance and resew them. Luckily I didn't get far before I checked but geez. I don't think I've had a correctly cut precut so far (layer cakes, charm packs, jelly rolls and now honey buns).

I'm glad I quit buying them a long time ago. I'm just trying to get them used up now.

I buy Moda pre cuts and so far all have been accurate. I don't buy the honey bun size though. I have baskets full of layer cakes and Jelly rolls. Those are the only two sizes I buy.

only bought a Moda precut and didn't have a problem with it.

Apparently the moral of the story is:

Always measure what you have - just to be sure it is what you are expecting it to be.

But I would not have thought to, either.

How are the pinked edge precuts measured? From outermost edge to outermost edge?

I buy only a few pre-cuts and I select them for foundation paper piecing projects I am going to work on.

I know it's disappointing, but a worse scenario would be if the strips were too narrow! Can always trim the wider strips.

I buy Honey Buns to use as sashing, and so far the Moda and the Robert Kaufman Kona Cottons have been fine.

I clothing construction, fabrics with pinked edges are measured from peak to peak, and this is how I measure my pre-cuts. You can measure from valley to valley, but just make sure you sew them all the same.

Can't really count on peak to peak because sometimes all the peaks are gone...with too
much handling and whatnot. I only bought one honey bun and haven't used it yet.
I think I'll find a pattern that doesn't need too much accuracy for that.
Last time I used a layer cake not all were square...some were less that 10" square.
Good thing I wasn't counting on using all of the 10" square.
Of course it gets worse when you starch.

I prefer to cut my own stuff. If it's wrong, then I can only blame me.

I only buy moda precuts and really haven't had a problem with them.

At least they were bigger. It was more work but you could fix it.

I have purchased Moda charm packs that have been way off 4.5" rather than 5" so I know what you mean!

Hugs

Caroline

I measure peak to peak. The zig zagged edges are another reason I hate precuts. The first time I bought a jelly roll it had straight edges. I guess it was before they started zig zagging everything.

I had one moda jelly roll that had a big angle at the fold of about half the strips. luckily I was able to get the pieces I needed from it.

In the meantime this current project is such a pain I'm going to be sure to find patterns for the rest (of my precuts) that require NO precision and/or have the pieces cut both ways before using them.

Oh and I agree-bigger is better than too small (like the riley blake layer cake that was a full 1/4" short on one side of every square-luckily I had to cut them all down anyway).

I have only bought one precut ever, a Robert Kaufman jelly roll, and it was just fine. I normally buy yardage, but in this case had a project planned and wanted the variety that a jelly roll gave me.

So glad I saw this topic, though. I will be very mindful of precuts in the future.

Why does it get worse when you starch?

I haven't purchased too many precuts, it seems most of my patterns call for yardage to be cut of your own choice of fabric. I'm glad you thought to measure early enough in your project. I am working on a Antler Design quilt that has you "proofing" your blocks as they are finished and I've not always been diligent about doing so but it is an eye-opener for me....

Many times precuts are cut with a small pinking edge. If you measure from the point of the pinked edge, it will be about 1/8th inch too wide. Not sure if that is what happened, but it might be. Sorry you have been having problems.

Precuts can be helpful if you are going to use the full piece or cut it in halves or quarters or use them for applique or paper piecing. They are hard to use without waste if you have several piece sizes cut from the same color I have a few but I don't think I will buy more-except basics to use as backgrounds.

Pinking edges are like movie subtitles. After a few minutes I forget I'm using them.

I agree with Boston1954. I have enough fabric to cut my own strips. Sometimes, I don't like to be restricted by the color palette of the precut. I am a scrappy kind of gal.

I want to know, too. Why does it get worse when you starch?

It is easy to cut precut shapes with the Go. No pinking edges, all straight edges.

I am very lax when it comes to perfection - but why would it matter if a doll's quilt is a little bit bigger or smaller? Or
are we talking about the principle of not getting what you expect when you order something?

We bought 12" wide fiberboard for shelving and it turned out to be 11.5" wide. What's going on????

I have used some of the leftovers from when RK cuts their charms and find with the pinked edge to be slightly larger so I always trim to make sure of the size.

ANd much less expensive in the long run. my experience yardage is less expensive and I can cut my own. Have not been happy with any online orders of precuts. Most usually too small/narrow/short, etc.

It shrinks. And sometimes it gets a little distorted.

Thanks for answering. I suppose that could happen. I usually don't starch until I have something sewn together and only if it needs to be really flat for accurate trimming.

It's not that it would be bigger or smaller but the blocks wouldn't be square and for the pattern I'm using, I need them square. I could have trimmed them but then the piecing of the block would look wonky. It's for a gift so I want it to look good.

Just measure the size first and work out the math from that is my motto. Just wish we could get plain pre -cuts here as it gets a bit tedious to cut from the metre with this sort of project.

I love pre-cuts and buy them all the time - I only buy Moda, Riley Blake or Robert Kaufman or Windham - good quality fabrics - I love having the whole collection of fabrics and not having to find fabrics that match - I always buy them on sale and never pay full price - I've never had a problem with the sizing and I've used them a lot. I will continue to use them as long as I can.

I'm with Otis. I absolutely LOVE the precuts. I do a lot of charity quilting, and having the line already cut is a huge timesaver. I use a lot of Jenny Doan's tutes, and they are specifically designed for precuts. I too love having the entire collection. I am not all that crazy for scrappy, like more controlled chaos. I have noticed that some shops cut their own jelly rolls and charms, and some seem to be off. I like the name brands for accuracy. With our ability to contact companies through the internet, it should be easy to take a picture of the offending product, and write them a complaint.

I would not say it gets worse when you starch. It is just a fact that starching your fabric can cause it to shrink. That is something you did to the fabric not a problem with the cut size.

I've had terrible luck with the layer cakes....thought it was just me.

I only buy pre-cuts for quilts when size does not matter--like strip quilts or charity quilts. If it has to be a specific size or cut I always, always, cut my own for this exact reason.

I found the same thing with the Moda jelly rolls and 5" squares I bought. Fortunately the quilt I was making only required consistency, not an accuracy. The last fat quarters I bought were also cut on an angle. Some were so bad I had less than 17" to work with. And that came from a "good" online store. I think I'll stick with yardage from now on.

O buy pre cuts at MSQ and haven't had any problems

I had a kit with precut Dresden blades. I sewed them together with 1/4" seam allowance on the first block and it wouldn't lay right

I had to use a 3/8" SA to correct the problem

I have another precut kit that I need to make. Hopefully since it came from somewhere else any problems I encounter will be due to operator error

I don't buy kits-these were given to me