Cutting wide strips with a narrow ruler

If you piece quilts with wide borders or large areas of negative space in the background, you have probably encountered the need to cut a width-of-fabric strip that is wider than your widest ruler.  Cutting large squares to cut setting triangles when setting blocks on point also often requires wider cutting.  What's a quilter with narrow rulers to do?

I have two methods to share with you.  For either method you'll need to start with a straight edge.  

Note:  I'm right handed so these instructons are right-handed.  If you are left-handed you'll need to reverse left/right directions.

Straighten the cut edge of the fabric

Fold the fabric in half along the length, selvedge to selvedge. 

Position the fabric with the edge to straighten on the right.

Lay your ruler over the fabric to extend across the entire width of fabric, from fold to selvedges, lining up a horizontal measurement line with the fold (highlighted as a red line in picture below).  The precise measurement doesn't matter.  You just want a straight line aligned with the fold.  That will give you the 90 degree angle at the corner where the fold and the ruler's side meet.

Trim along the right side of the ruler.  You should now have a cut straight edge that is perfectly square with the folded edge.

Turn the fabric or rotate the cutting mat 180° to position the straightened edge on the left.

METHOD 1

In this example, I'm cutting a 11"-wide strip.  The 6" width of my 6" x 24" ruler is clearly not wide enough.  I can turn the ruler 90° and use the 11"  measurement.  (You may notice I swapped my 12" ruler for the 24", because it's less cumbersome but still long enough.  If I needed to cut a strip wider than 12", I'd stick with the longer ruler.)

As always when measuring strips, I make sure a horizontal marking aligns up with the folded edge, and the measurement I'm cutting (11" in this case) lines up with the straightened cut edge.

The ruler doesn't span the distance from fold to selvedge.  That's OK.  I cut along the right edge of the ruler, stop before I run out of ruler, move the ruler up, again measuring 11", and cut again.  I repeat that until I've cut all the way up to the selvedge.

I now have a 11" strip, ready to use for borders, or subcutting, or whatever the pattern calls for. 

What if you don't have a ruler long enough for the width?  See Method 2 below.

METHOD 2

This method pairs multiple ruler to add up to the required measurement.  In this example I'm cutting an 8.5" strip.  I could have cut this using Method 1, but I wanted to demonstrate Method 2. The smaller scale is easier to photograph to show detail, so I'm demonstrating with a 8.5" strip width.  This method would be most useful when you don't have a long enough ruler to use Method 1.

There's a tiny bit of math next, but it's simple arithmetic so even if you're not fond of math, don't panic.

Subtract the width of one ruler (let's call this Ruler #1) from the required strip width.  In this case I'm using my 6" x 24" ruler to span from fold to selvedge, so the width is 6".

8.5" - 6" = 2.5"

The resuting number, 2.5" in this example, is the measurement to use with Ruler #2.  I position my Ruler #2 to measure 2.5" from the cut edge.

Next, I tuck Ruler #1 up against this one, on the right, over the fabric.. The measured 2.5" on Ruler #2 plus the width of Ruler #1 on the right add up to the required 8.5".

When using a longer ruler on the right, I have the option of sliding the left ruler up along the right ruler before I cut, making sure to not move the right ruler, to double check that the edge is square and the width measurement will be accurate all the way up to the selvedge.

Uusing a 24" long ruler on the right I can cut along the right edge and be done.

If my ruler was shorter I could cut, move both rulers up, and cut again, as in Method 1.

Which method do your prefer for cutting wide strips?  Please share your tips and suggestions in the comments!

Happy quilting,

Joanne

PS: This fabric used in this tutorial is "Smoke" from the Codici collection, one of White Owl Textiles' Funadamentals collections, their colour basics.   I love the Codici dots!

Cutting strips longer than your ruler

What do you do when you need to cut a piece that is longer than your ruler?  You fold the fabric and do a little math.  It's a tiny little bit of math, easy peasy, I promise.

Any ruler can be used to cut a piece that is up to twice as long as the ruler.

·         A 24” inch ruler will allow you to cut lengths up to 48” long.

·         A 12” ruler will allow you to cut lengths 24” or shorter.

As an example, let's cut a 2.5" x 18" strip with a 12" ruler.  I'm demonstrating using a 12" ruler to demonstrate the technique because it's easier to photograph and show details when using the smaller ruler, but this applies to any length up to twice as long as the ruler you have available.

Preliminary Steps

Step 1: Calculate half the required length.  Let’s call this H.

For my example:  half of 18" is 9", so H=9".

Step 2: Cut a strip to the required width. (Refer to this tutorial if you need guidance on measuring and cutting straight strips.)

Make a Decision

At this point you need to decide if you prefer two smaller scraps leftover, or need one longer scrap. 

For example, if I'm cutting 38" strip from a 40" strip, I can end up with two 1" scraps or one 2" scrap.  Do I need that 2" piece or can I live with two 1" pieces to discard?  I'll probably live with the 1" bits.

In a different scenario, suppose I'm cutting a 28" piece from a 40" strip.  I might need the full 12" leftover to cut one 8" piece and one 4" piece as well.  Two 6" scraps won't let me cut both those extra pieces.

I know that looks like math.  The easiest thing to do is buy extra fabric so you deal with the two extra scraps, save them for another project, and cut the extra pieces from extra fabric.  However, that costs extra fabric, and only you know if that's in your budget so I'm giving you options!

I'll show you what to do in each cae.  Remember that in the examples below, I'm cutting 18" strips using a 12" ruler.

OPTION 1 - Two Shorter Scraps

Step 1: Fold the strip in half. (If you cut the strip from a piece of fabric folded selvedge to selvedge, just don’t unfold the strip.)

Step 2: Position your ruler square with the fold, with measurement H on the fold.

Step 3:  Trim away the ends of the strip extending past the end of the ruler

When you open up that fold you should have a piece the length you needed, plus two extra scraps trimmed from the ends.

OPTION 2 - One Longer Scrap

Step 1:  Fold the strip so the length of the top layer is just a little longer than H.  You could try to make that top layer exactly H, but that's a little fussy to do.  Going a smidge over H gives you wiggle room.  I like wiggle room. In the photo below the wiggle room is extra generous because there's unusable selvedge at the end of that top piece, so I'm extending it past H so that bit will be trimmed away too.  

Step 2: Position your ruler square with the fold, with measurement H on the fold.

Step 3:  Trim away the ends of the strip extending past the end of the ruler.  (I just noticed I swept the little trimmed bit of selvedge off before I took the picture below.  It was trimmed, trust me!)

When you open up the fold you should have a piece the length you needed, plus one scrap trimmed from the end.

That's all there is to it!  

As always, please drop your questions or anything you'd like to add in the comments below.

Happy quilting,

Joanne

PS:  Thank you to White Owl Textiles for the fabrics used in this tutorial. Both are from their "Codici" Fundamentals collection.

• Option 1:  Denim (W165-001-555)
• Option 2:  Navy (W165-001-585)

How to cut straight strips

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.

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.

Rumpled fold

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.

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.

A closer look at the vertical alignment

Cut along the right side of the ruler.

You could straighten the crooked edge now, but I prefer to cut additional strips first, since there is now a lovely straight edge to measure from for any additional required strips

After cutting as many more strips as needed or as many as you can fit on the cutting mat, rotate the cutting mat 180 degrees.  I prefer to rotate the cutting mat rather than manipulate the fabric and risk having the fabric shift before I’m done trimming the strip.  

Position the ruler over the first strip you cut to measure the strip width from the straight edge.

Trim away the crooked edge to the right 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!