Good demo- but I am not convinced it is necessary for quilting to get "straight of the grain"--pieces are small, they are attached to other fabric- then stitched into place with the quilting so there is nothing left to "hang straight" as there is in garment sewing, where SOG is very important. IMHO

Pulling a thread is necessary when using linen for needlework but not for yard goods. So many times a design is not printed squarely. A woven plaid would need a pulled thread but anything with a printed design doesn't, it's a waste of time and fabric.

Carol J.

Thanks for the refresher and reminder that this is an important thing to do. I didn't take home ec but I remember my mother teaching me how to do this.

I like your tutorial. Thanks for posting. Personally, I always tear. It is also nice if my fabric is long (3 or 4 yards). I estimate how much I need with strips, multiply to find length, add 1.5-2.0 inches and tear. That way I am working with a smaller section to rotary cut.

me too!

Carol, if we cut to the pattern and not the grain, are we creating more ravelly edges than otherwise? I am concerned strictly about wear on the quilt - I have enough fabric experience to know that garments need to hang properly which requires SOG. Would you cut to the pattern or the grain?
thank you
Sue

I try to follow the grain as much as I can when cutting, this is acceptable if the design does not have lines or stripes. If the fabric is printed right and the lines follow the selvedge, you won't have a problem with cuts going askew. When you sew seams the fabric is held captive and I haven't found it to pucker or get frayed if cut a bit off-grain.
If you wash your fabric first and get rid of the starch or whatever they use to stiffen it so it looks firm when buy it, you will be able to tell if it is printed according to the grain.
I have found some fabric is pulled unevenly onto the cardboards and there is nothing you can do to straighten it and I only hope there isn't a definite pattern to the design.
We used to pull the fabric diagonally to make it straighter, that helps if you find once you cut it off a bolt and take it home, the selvedges don't meet. Has anyone else found that to be true? The clerks don't cut on the grain or even try so it is best to get a little bit more than you need.

Carol J.

Thanks for the tut. I have always cut along the line created by pulling a thread with sissors. I hadn't thought of using my rotary cutter - da -LOL

My 104 yr. old mother is smiling down from Heaven right now. She so happy someone's keeping her seamstress advise going strong! :D

I too was taught to do this in my Home-Ec class. Sewing 101, I guess you'd say. Now, I rip the length of my fabric when I make my borders. I usually do this first thing so I'll have long pieces.