Читать книгу The Quilter's Bible - Linda - Страница 47

Cutting fabric strips is the first step towards cutting other shapes and is required for many forms of patchwork, including Seminole and string patchwork.

Fabric strips can be cut crosswise, at right angles to the selvedge, or lengthwise, which is parallel to the selvedge (diagram A). Many quilters are used to cutting crosswise but there are advantages to cutting lengthwise.

Cutting a crosswise strip – To cut a crosswise strip fold the fabric in two smoothly, right sides out, with selvedges aligned. Place it on the cutting mat with the fold aligned with a horizontal mark on the mat and cut a narrow vertical strip to straighten the edge (B).

Now move the ruler to the right and cut a second strip to the desired width. If left-handed, cut from the right side instead of the left. Fabric can be folded more than once for multiple-layer cuts.

Cutting a lengthwise strip – Cutting fabric this way produces more stable strips because the straight grain is less stretchy than the crosswise grain. In addition, the print on a fabric follows the lengthwise grain, so when cut the pattern is less likely to be skewed. Fabrics can be stacked, usually four layers, and then be cut without folding, as shown here.

Trim off the selvedge first (C) and then cut strips to the desired width (D).