Читать книгу The Quilter's Bible - Linda - Страница 45

The following points should lead to successful rotary cutting. (See also Cutting Safety.)

• Press fabrics before cutting them to remove creases.

• Cut on a firm surface on a self-healing mat. Avoid straining your back with a surface that is too low.

• A 45mm diameter blade is useful for most cutting tasks, while a smaller 28mm blade is more manoeuvrable for cutting around curves and templates.

• Hold the cutter firmly in the same hand you write with at a 45 degree angle, with the blade vertical. Hold the ruler in place with your other hand, keeping fingers away from the edge. Do not use a normal ruler for rotary cutting, only a thick acrylic type. Standing up to cut usually gives more control.

• Cut with the blade firmly against the side of the ruler – on the right if you are right-handed and on the left if you are left-handed. The patchwork piece you are cutting should be under the ruler.

• When making a long cut, ‘walk’ your hand down the ruler when it needs to be steadied in a different place, rather than taking your hand off, as this will help stop the ruler moving.

• Do not cut over pins as they will damage the blade and may cause it to jump.

• Clean your mat regularly to stop the build-up of lint. Using the marked lines on the ruler rather than the mat will also reduce cutting in the same place each time and prolong the mat’s life. Store the mat flat or hang it vertically, out of direct sunlight.

• Use the same ruler throughout a project as small measurement differences can occur between rulers.

• When rotary cutting around templates, position the cutter along the template and cut out the shape, taking care that you do not shave thin slivers off the template.

• Gentle curves can be cut with a normal rotary cutter although circle rotary cutters are available.

• When cutting strips of fabric from a folded piece of fabric, check that the first cut strip is not kinked in the middle. If it is, re-fold the fabric.

• When cutting multiple layers of fabric (sometimes called ‘stack and whack’), take care how many layers you stack as too many can cause shifting and inaccuracy. Press each fabric with a little spray starch, pressing one fabric on top of the other to form a firm sandwich. Place the layers carefully on the cutting mat and trim the edge off first.