sewnsewer2

I read somewhere that if you fold your fabric where it is even on the fold (not necessarily with the selveges lined up) then you don't get those. I tried it and it works!

Match your selvages, then grab the fold and shake it even.

joy

I haven't read all of the notes, but when placing the ruler on the material you have to first see that the selvedge is straight with the opposite side, then line up a straight line on the ruler at the fold, and without moving the ruler, cut across the material to the other side... then don't move the material but carefully turn the cutting mat around so you can then cut the strips... with every strip y ou cut you have to line the ruler up with the previous long cutting edge and ALSO the fold line otherwise you will get an elbow in the material... if that happens, then recut again (square up) and start all over again... just make sure that you don't move the material at any stage... if the material is long I just fold it and lay the excess on the mat, turn the mat around, then carefully unfold the excess , then cut strips...

ScubaK

Ahh...an age old question asked again and again...
I have found that you need to aline your selvedge edges not the cut edges because the fabric is not straight on the bolt.
This can end up being a couple of inches off on the end of the fabric piece...much to our frustration (because that gets cut off in squaring up fabric)
So, take your selvidge edges and line those up so the fold in the fabric is "nice and correct" then square up your fabric, then cut your strips.
Hope this helps.
Kirsten

ctquilter

One other thing that I do that hasn't been mentioned yet is that I make sure that the folded edge is toward me and the selvedge edge is away from me on the cutting mat. I learned this from Simply Quilts a few years ago and it works for me.

k3n

I used to have bowed strips and now I do this but using a 6" square ruler as the first ruler- works every time! :D

Lisa_wanna_b_quilter

The two ruler trick makes alot of sense to me. It sounds much easier than pinning. I'm going to try that one!

MNQuilter

Thank you for all the tips. I do make sure I line up selvages, not cut ends and make sure my fabric lays flat on the fold. I then iron iron iron until it is nice and crisp and flat. I line the fold at the bottom edge with the selvage away from me then square it up. I'll have to try the two ruler trick. I also don't touch the fabric that I am cutting when I am cutting multiple strips.

I just got an Eleanor Burns Log Cabin book and she recommends tearing off a strip of fabric to make sure that you are perfectly straight on the grain. I'm hesitant to tear as I also don't want to stretch anything but maybe I'll try it with some scrap fabric and see if it helps. I saw a recent huge discussion about tearing vs cutting on this board.

GailG

The last sentence is the most important thing to remember. Your ruler must be at a 90 degree angle to the fold (use the lines on the ruler to align with the fold).

Dingle

Being new to quilting I just can't seem to understand about the rulers. Any way I can get a visual or direct me to a website that might show this?

Thanks, Kris

joy

you really need to be shown.... remember you have to have two sides of the ruler on a straight line before cutting and that is what it is all about.... one across and the other up and down... have a play with that...but if I were you I would google it... not sure what I would type in though. Maybe "stripping"... worth a try. Or "cutting straight lines of material". Let us know how you get on....