Why am I not getting this? I'm not going by any lines on my ruler, I'm lining my ruler up with the 5" line on my cutting mat and I cut up along the side of ruler. When you say edge of fabric, to me there is no edge at that spot its in the middle of piece of fabric, the edge is at the beginning or end. I'm missing something here. Look at the 5" mark on cutting mat and look at where I placed my ruler and tell me where I should line up the ruler, right on the 5" mark or at the left of right of 5" line, where you place it has to make a difference in the size of your cut. In your photo there is no fabric to the right of ruler to cut off. Thank you for trying to help me understand this.

Ah ha! I would Never use the lines on my cutting mat and it may be where the confusion lies. I used to and my blocks never came out right. Then I took a class and the instructor caught me using the lines on my mat and took me to task for it. The lines on the ruler are precision set by instruments that are made to be accurate. The lines on your mat are not. I measured my mat and was shocked to discover that across the entire mat it was off by almost 2 inches! :shock: Not all mats are off by that much but none of them are precise and they are not made in the factory to be exactly precise. Not only that but the lines on the cutting mat are a bit thick and you can get your fabric exactly on the line and still have it off. My suggestion would be to measure your mat and if you are determined to use it, make sure the lines on it are not off too far.

your explaining fine, the middle photo is the correct placement....some are looking at the left ruler line LOL

I see people use the mat ruler all the time and just cringe. They complain nothing comes out right duh!...I saw a woman in a class cut all her blocks this way and had to start all over. She cut a 2" strip and layed it next to my 2" strip and was amazed...hers was actually short by probably 1/16" look what that would do to a block

Sadly, I know exactly what that will do to a block, and to an entire quilt! :roll: Maybe that's why so many of my earlier quilts ended up as UFOs. (At least that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)

I always use a scant inch and when I cut the fabric I usually cut just a hair over the line on the ruler. I measure as I go along. Not to say there haven't been some odd sizes!!! But not often enough for me to go nuts. Had a teacher once who told us in class don't worry about a little off " you can always fudge it". Needless to say I am not a big "fudger". Hate to see those gathers and 1/2 inch is a lot of "fudging". I just "unsew" if the measurement is wrong...

I'm not a big fudger either.

Thank you ladies for being so patient and trying to help me understand what you were talking about. The people on this board are just great with everyone trying to help. I guess I need to move my ruler so that it is right on the line.

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this question. It's been a busy deployment time and sewing time.

I found the pattern on Quilters Cache. I love it and am planning a quilt with this block soon. I love the contrast.
Hugs

I use my ruler to cut also, the mat is only a safety measure for the table top. I try to get my fabric to show just barely under the line. I don't want it to be way to big, nor too small. Ruler consistancy is important, too. If I begin the cuts with a narrow 2 inch ruler, I use that one throughout the cutting.

I was gratified that the LQS owner and master teacher both had the same problem with that block. That gave me back a bit of my confidence. Going to be taking a refresher math course soon, I get myself twisted in knots with trying to remember all my math. sheesh

Thanks to all of you for commiserating with me and trying to help me find an answer. I'm blaming the gremlins. The gal that won the blocks loved it and that is the important thing, I guess.