BQTC#6 Squaring Your Fabric and Preparing for Cutting
15/10/08 21:01 Filed in: BQTC #6
Squaring Fabric
It's hard to believe that yards and yards of fabric are made up of thousands, if not millions, of tiny little threads, all tightly woven together. These threads run in two different directions, lengthways and crossways. This is what's referred to as the grain of the fabric. Consider the length of the fabric, wrapping around the bolt to create one continuous piece about 15 yards long. This is the lengthwise grain. Now think of the fabric in the opposite direction, running selvage to selvage about 44 inches. These threads are the cross grain. (The selvage is the 'finished' edge of the fabric. It will have small holes pierced through out the length and this is where you will see the manufacturer or name of the fabric line, for example Moda, Northcott, or Hoffman.)
In this image, the lengthwise grain runs left to right.
Here you see the selvage up close, this fabric is manufactured by Northcott.
Ideally when you are cutting your fabric, you would like to cut along one single thread for the entire cut. This would give you a straight square piece of fabric which will lay flat without twisting or turning when sewn into your quilt or garment. This is especially important when cutting for borders, where the pieces of fabric are larger and the grain is more evident. The first step is make sure your fabric is folded correctly. It is best to work with pieces no larger than one yard at a time so the fabric is easy to manage. When you purchased your fabric, it was folded in half, with the selvage edges together. Separate the two sides, so you are holding one selvage, with the other edge hanging down by your knees somewhere. The fabric may have looked square after the cutting, but it was very likely not! Keeping the first selvage side in your hands, fold the fabric again, with the wrong sides together, so you are holding both selvages in your hands. Keep your index fingers between the two layers so you can manipulate the layers to the left and right as needed.
Now just to get an idea, of what the heck I am talking about (!), take the fabric closest to you, and move it as far to the left as you can, while keeping the other side in place. You will see a 'belly" build up along the bottom fold of your fabric. This bulge tells you that the threads are not lined up the way they should be. Shift the fabric back towards middle and watch how the bulge disappears as the fabric lines up straight again. Move the fabric once more to the right to see how the bulge will accumulate on the other half. Manipulate your layers, and match your selvages together until the fabric sits straight without a bulge. You will notice how the fabric bulges even if it is shifted only a small amount.
In these examples, the top layer of fabric has been shifted to the right, in order to show the belly or bulge of fabric NOT square.
At this point, lay your fabric on your cutting mat, with the selvage ends away from you. Align the fold, as best as you can, along the one inch cutting line. Now look at the cut, raw edge of the fabric, where it was cut at the quilt shop. See how the two layers no longer line up? This is the bit of fabric which must be trimmed away in order to finish the squaring process. Your first cut will be on the left hand side of the fabric. Place your ruler over the raw edge, making sure to cover enough fabric to cut a straight line through both layers. This will only cut off about a quarter to half an inch of fabric, and will leave you with a clean straight edge. Now your fabric is squared and ready for cutting!
Here is my thumb, lining up the fold with the one inch line on my cutting mat.
At the top you can see the see the raw edge I need to trim off in order to square the fabric.
Lining up the ruler to cut a nice straight square edge....
TADA! The uneven edge is gone and my fabric is now square!
It's hard to believe that yards and yards of fabric are made up of thousands, if not millions, of tiny little threads, all tightly woven together. These threads run in two different directions, lengthways and crossways. This is what's referred to as the grain of the fabric. Consider the length of the fabric, wrapping around the bolt to create one continuous piece about 15 yards long. This is the lengthwise grain. Now think of the fabric in the opposite direction, running selvage to selvage about 44 inches. These threads are the cross grain. (The selvage is the 'finished' edge of the fabric. It will have small holes pierced through out the length and this is where you will see the manufacturer or name of the fabric line, for example Moda, Northcott, or Hoffman.)
In this image, the lengthwise grain runs left to right.
Here you see the selvage up close, this fabric is manufactured by Northcott.
Ideally when you are cutting your fabric, you would like to cut along one single thread for the entire cut. This would give you a straight square piece of fabric which will lay flat without twisting or turning when sewn into your quilt or garment. This is especially important when cutting for borders, where the pieces of fabric are larger and the grain is more evident. The first step is make sure your fabric is folded correctly. It is best to work with pieces no larger than one yard at a time so the fabric is easy to manage. When you purchased your fabric, it was folded in half, with the selvage edges together. Separate the two sides, so you are holding one selvage, with the other edge hanging down by your knees somewhere. The fabric may have looked square after the cutting, but it was very likely not! Keeping the first selvage side in your hands, fold the fabric again, with the wrong sides together, so you are holding both selvages in your hands. Keep your index fingers between the two layers so you can manipulate the layers to the left and right as needed.
Now just to get an idea, of what the heck I am talking about (!), take the fabric closest to you, and move it as far to the left as you can, while keeping the other side in place. You will see a 'belly" build up along the bottom fold of your fabric. This bulge tells you that the threads are not lined up the way they should be. Shift the fabric back towards middle and watch how the bulge disappears as the fabric lines up straight again. Move the fabric once more to the right to see how the bulge will accumulate on the other half. Manipulate your layers, and match your selvages together until the fabric sits straight without a bulge. You will notice how the fabric bulges even if it is shifted only a small amount.
In these examples, the top layer of fabric has been shifted to the right, in order to show the belly or bulge of fabric NOT square.
At this point, lay your fabric on your cutting mat, with the selvage ends away from you. Align the fold, as best as you can, along the one inch cutting line. Now look at the cut, raw edge of the fabric, where it was cut at the quilt shop. See how the two layers no longer line up? This is the bit of fabric which must be trimmed away in order to finish the squaring process. Your first cut will be on the left hand side of the fabric. Place your ruler over the raw edge, making sure to cover enough fabric to cut a straight line through both layers. This will only cut off about a quarter to half an inch of fabric, and will leave you with a clean straight edge. Now your fabric is squared and ready for cutting!
Here is my thumb, lining up the fold with the one inch line on my cutting mat.
At the top you can see the see the raw edge I need to trim off in order to square the fabric.
Lining up the ruler to cut a nice straight square edge....
TADA! The uneven edge is gone and my fabric is now square!
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