Squareing up fabric before you cut

[Louise]

I am reading a book on how to make a log cabin quilt the book says to snip a savage edge of the fabric and then rip the fabric across and then match up the torn edges to square up the fabric do you all do this or is thre a better way? is it rally necessary?

[Denis]

Some quilters do this and some authors recommend it (depending on how old the publication is). There are some quilt and fabric shops that cut their fabrics this way. Tearing on the crosswise grain (selvage to selvage) is suppose to give you a straight edge. I've sone this sometimes if I'm cutting from yardage and often found it not to tear on the grain. Tearing also leaves a damaged or bruised edge. If I decide to cut my borders on the lengthwise grain to avoid piecing strips, I'll add an extra 1/2" on either side then trim those down.

[Genny]

I don't do this but I have heard of it. Hopefully someone here can help you. Genny

[Denis]

Oops I forgot to answer your second part.

To square up my fabric. I'll hold both selvages together with my arms extended so I can see the bottom of the fold. Then I'll shift or slide one selvage edge left or right to make sure the fold is straight with no visible wobbles. Once I see it's straight, I lay it on my table then trim the edge I'm cutting from.

Here's a Youtube vid on what I mean. Penny on the video does it a little differently (which I've done at times too), but is still very effective and will give you the same results.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_euef3T7b8

[rebeccas-sewing]

Denis, you are definitely the king! I usually do it your way but seeing Penny's I'm turning over a new leaf! I think her way is easier to seeif it's lined up properly. Sometimes when I'm doing it our way I'm not sure if I've got it right. Penny's way seems to leave less room for error. Thanks, Denis!

[Bubby]

I straighten my fabric the same way as Denis (above). If I am cutting a lot of strips, after every 4 or 5 cuts I will re-straighten my cutting edge to keep my strips straight.

[Sandy Navas]

I don't know if anyone remembers (or if I even mentioned it here) but recently when purchasing fabric the 'cutter' clipped the selvage and lifted about four threads. She then cut along side these threads the whole width of the fabric (120" backing!!!) and wound up with the same four threads at the end - and a straight cut.

When I was learning to sew, at Momma's side, we were taught to grab opposite corners and stretch the fabric across the bias to get it to line up and be straight. That was many, many moons ago - amazing how things have changed or how accomplishing a task is perceived in different areas and eras.

[bakermom]

Sandy that's how I was taught, too. I still find myself tugging to straighten a piece of fabric when needed.
It can be quite a job to square up a large piece of fabric if you are, um, "vertically challenged" like me.

[Jean Sewing Machine]

The first time I saw someone tear the fabric in a fabric store, I was appalled! But it is probably the best way. With some of the cheaper cottons, I'm not sure how crazy difficult it would be to straighten an edge once it was torn, I guess then I'd prefer to rotary cut.

[Jean Sewing Machine]

Oops I forgot to answer your second part.

To square up my fabric. I'll hold both selvages together with my arms extended so I can see the bottom of the fold. Then I'll shift or slide one selvage edge left or right to make sure the fold is straight with no visible wobbles. Once I see it's straight, I lay it on my table then trim the edge I'm cutting from.

Here's a Youtube vid on what I mean. Penny on the video does it a little differently (which I've done at times too), but is still very effective and will give you the same results.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_euef3T7b8

King Denis, we are learning an awful lot from you! Thanks for sharing so much valuable information. I'm trying the serged quilt you sent the link for yesterday, it might be a keeper!