One of the most useful skills I have learned in rotary cutting is how to cut straight strips from selvedge to selvedge. You can make most efficient use of your fabric if you don't have to discard the middle of the strip becase there's a little jog or bend in the middle. Also, discarding the middle bit isn't an option if you're making width-of fabric strip sets, or when you need a strip longer than half the width of fabric.
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I purposely cut the bent strip shown above a little more crooked than you would probably usually see, to make sure you could see the bend in the photo. Less pronounced jogs in your strip are still a problem though. Read on for my best tips to avoid them.
I strongly recommend using a 24” ruler. The ruler will be long enough to span most
quilting cottons when folded in half selvedge to selvedge. You could fold the fabric into four layers so a shorter ruler could span the width, but I have not had good results this way. I don't have eyes on that inner fold to make sure it's straight with the ruler to avoid a bend when cutting through that fold.
Step 1: Fold the fabric
Fold the fabric in
half, selvedge to selvedge, matching the selvedge edges. Check the folded edge to see if it's smooth. If not, slide the two selvedges in opposite directions, keeping them even with each other, until the folded edge is smooth, with no pulling or wrinkles.
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| Rumpled fold |
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| Smooth fold after sliding the selvedges |
At this point, you may prefer to straighten the cut edge of
your fabric before cutting a strip. I
prefer to straighten that edge after cutting the strip, so I don’t have
to reposition the fabric for measuring and risk having the fabric layers
shift. Keep reading. It will make sense. I took photos to show you what I do.
Note that I’m right handed, so these instructions and
photos show fabric and ruler positions for right-handed cutting. If you’re left-handed, you’ll most likely
need to reverse those.
Step 2: Position the fabric
I prefer to place the fabric on the cutting mat with the
folded edge positioned closest to me.
This makes it easier to look straight down at the fold to line up the
ruler accurately along the fold to make a straight cut.
Step 3: Place the ruler
Lay the quilting ruler across the fabric, extending beyond the fabric on both ends, with a horizontal measurement line matched perfectly with the folded edge.
Position the measurement line for the width you need slightly to the right of the unstraightrened edge. Make sure to also keep the horizontal marking lined up with the fold.
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| Rule positioned to cut a 2 1/2" strip. The 2 1/2" vertical measurement is highlighted in red. Notice folded edge is till aligned with a horizontal line on the ruler. |
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| A closer look at the vertical alignment |
Cut along the right side of the ruler.
Also note that if the left edge stops being square with the fold at any time while I'm cutting strips, I prioritize matching the horizontal ruler markings with the fold rather than vertical ones with the left edge. The strip will not be a consistent width, but as long as I make sure that the narrowest part is at least the width I need, I can trim the strip to the required consistent width after I rotate the mat, in the same way as I trim the strip with the crooked or ragged edge.
Here's one of the strips, unfolded, I zoomed in on the fold, so you can see there is no angle in the sides of the strip at the fold. It's a tidy straight strip. I'll press that fold out now that I've shown you it's straight where the fold was.
That's it! It's simple, but makes such a difference for accurate piecing. Let me know in the comments if you have questions, or any useful tips to add.
Happy quilting,
Joanne
PS: Thank you to White Owl Textiles for the fabric used in all but one photo in this tutorial. It's Denim (W110-001-515) from their Fundamentals collection "Stucco". The first picture showing a bent versus straight strip is from my stash, because I didn't have enough of the Stucco to intentionally miscut a bent strip!
