Читать книгу The Weekend Quilter - Группа авторов - Страница 12

There are many different pieces of rotary cutting equipment on the market. You will need the following basics for the quilts in this book.

Acrylic rotary ruler: Use a rotary ruler with a nonbeveled edge. Never use a metal ruler, as it will ruin the blades of your rotary cutter. Markings should be on the underside of the ruler, laser printed, and easy to read. A ruler with the markings on the top surface will give a parallax view of the measurements, which will not be accurate. Any angles marked on the ruler should be marked in both directions. A good-sized rule to have is 6 x 24 inches (15 x 60 cm).

Bias square ruler: This special tool will aid you in cutting and squaring up half-square triangle units. A good size to have is 6 x 6 inches (15 x 15 cm).

Rectangle ruler: The BiRangle™ is one example of this tool, which is designed to help you stitch rectangles twice as long as they are wide. When you cut rectangles from contrasting strips that have been stitched together, you can quickly and accurately make long, thin pairs of triangles. The Creative Grids Perfect Rectangle Ruler and the Bloc Loc Half Rectangle Triangle Ruler are other examples of this type of tool.

Rotary cutter: Rotary cutters come in small, medium, and large sizes. The medium size is classified as heavy duty and is good for all-around use. The small size is good for trimming and for cutting curves. The large size is excellent for cutting large multiple layers, but if you are a newcomer to the technique, you may find it slightly more difficult to control. Keep your cutter well maintained because blunt blades will ruin your mat and make cutting difficult and unpleasant; replacement blades are readily available. Rotary cutters come with safety covers that should be engaged at all times when you are not cutting. Also make sure that cutters are stored safely, out of reach of children. Safe habits prevent accidents from happening.

Self-healing rotary cutting mat: It is essential that you do not cut on any other surface. These mats come in a variety of sizes; a good size is one on which the fabric will fit with only one fold. There is a grid on one side of the mat, but this grid is roller printed and is not always accurate, so do not rely on it for measurements. To avoid confusion, use the reverse side of the mat.

Set square: This is for straightening up the fabric before cutting. A second rotary cutting ruler will substitute for this.

Most of this equipment is available with either imperial (US) or metric measurements, or both.