Beginner's Guide To Quilting - UK (2020-04)

Patchwork Made Easy

piece of fabric doesn’t have a selvedge,

just line the edge of the fabric up with a

horizontal line on the mat.) Check the

right-hand side of the fabric – if it’s

following a vertical line on the mat then it

is square; if not, trim that fabric edge

(shown by the red line in the How to

Square Up diagram).

Now rotate the mat and do the same on

the other sides of the fabric. Neatly trim

off any selvedges.

READY, STEADY, CUT!

Get started by learning how to cut strips

and squares. Fabric pieces or strips can

be cut at right angles to the selvedge

(crosswise) or parallel to the selvedge

(lengthwise). Fabric cut lengthwise is the

most stable. Fabric can also be cut in the

bias direction if you want it to have some

stretch, such as when making bias

binding to go around curved shapes.

You can simply use the markings on

your cutting mat to decide where to cut

but a quilter’s ruler usually has more

detailed markings. The width of a

quilter’s ruler can often be used to mark

strips of fabric, or you can measure them

with the length of the ruler and mark the

measurement you need with a pencil.

When you have to make a second cut on a

piece of fabric it’s best to rotate the mat if

you can, rather than picking up and

moving the fabric.

CUTTING A NARROW STRIP

Many patchwork blocks are created from

strips of fabric, often less than 6in (15cm)

wide. To cut a strip, check your fabric is

square, then fold it in half with the

selvedges (or straight edges) aligned,

right sides out. Place the fabric on your

mat with the fold against a horizontal

mark on the mat. Be sure the left-hand

edge is straight. Now place a quilter’s

ruler against the left edge, positioning it

to the width you require (a 3in/7.5cm

width is shown below) and cut a strip.

Open out the cut strip and check that it

is straight, and not kinked at the centre.

If it’s kinked then check your folded fabric

is straight and right-angled. Move the

ruler to the right and cut a second strip,

and carry on to the right for further

strips. If the strip you need is wider than

your ruler, then mark the width required

with two pencil dots and align the ruler

between the dots to make the cut.

CUTTING A SQUARE OR RECTANGLE

FROM A STRIP

Cutting a long strip down into smaller

squares or rectangles is an everyday

technique in patchwork. First cut a strip

to the width needed for your square or

rectangle. Position the ruler to cut a

square (or rectangle) of the size you need

(a 3in/7.5cm square is shown below). Cut

the shape. Move the ruler to the right and

position it to cut another square.

Fold

Save time by swiftly cutting through three or four

fabric layers in one go with a sharp rotary cutter

Beginner’s Guide to Quilting 35

A narrow strip

(for example, 3in)

Place ruler on straight

edge of fabric

Keep your shape right-angled

by using the ruler markings.

When one square has been cut,

move to the right to cut the second.

Fold fabric in half, along

horizontal line on mat.

CUTTING A NARROW STRIP CUTTING A SQUARE OR RECTANGLE FROM A STRIP