Beginner's Guide to Quilting - UK (2020-02)

Can’t wait to start snipping up your beautiful

fabric finds into patchwork blocks? Here’s the

lowdown on how to get neat strips and squares...

ALL ABOUT

CUTTING

Fat quarters, strip rolls, for first-time

patchworkers it’s all too tempting to

dive headfirst into your fabric and

start cutting. But there’s nothing

worse than squandering beautiful fabrics

due to a careless cut in the wrong place.

We’re here to teach you a few basic skills

that will equip you with the know-how

you need to cut your fabrics in a way that

makes your patchwork projects look

great every time. We’ll show you how to

prepare your fabrics, square up fabric on

your cutting board and accurately cut a

few basic shapes. Once you’ve mastered

the basics, turn to our ‘Shapes’ section

on page 77 to try your new skills on

triangles, hexagons and curves too.

Before you begin...

It’s always a good idea to spend a little

time preparing fabrics before you use

them. For patchwork and quilting, you’ll

mostly be using cotton fabrics. See

pages 30 and 31 for our handy guides to

pre-washing and pressing your fabric.

Before you start, check all fabric pieces

for straight edges – it might not have

been cut accurately when you bought it.

If the fabric isn’t straight, use your rotary

cutter and ruler to trim it (see the How to

Square Up diagram, below). You’ll also

need to trim away the selvedge – the

tightly woven fabric edge. It’s often more

than ¼in (6mm) wide so could show in

your patchwork.

Tools of the trade

You’ll find your patchwork is easier, faster

and more accurate if you treat yourself to

a few basic tools. Of course you can

always cut your fabric with scissors but

rotary cutting equipment gives the most

accurate results.

Start by investing in a self-healing mat,

rotary cutter and acrylic quilter’s ruler

(see page 16). Safety is key when you use

rotary cutting equipment as the circular

blades are extremely sharp.

Use a strong acrylic quilter’s ruler –

normal rulers are not suitable and, in fact,

can be dangerous as the cutter could

slide up over the edge. Place your cutting

mat on a firm surface at a height

comfortable for you and your back, and

always cut away from you, replacing the

guard the moment you have finished

cutting. To keep your edges neat, replace

or sharpen the blade when the cutter

starts skipping threads.

How to ‘square up’

For the best results, cut your fabric

pieces so they’re right-angled and on the

straight grain. Rotary cutting equipment

is recommended for this. You can also

check that a finished quilt top is right-

angled using the same technique.

Place your pressed fabric on your cutting

mat so a selvedge is aligned with a

horizontal marking on the mat. If your

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).

HOW TO SQUARE UP CUTTING DIRECTIONS

SE

LV

ED

GE

SE

LV

ED

GE

CROSSWISE CUT STRIP

LE

NG

TH

W

ISE

CU

T^ S

TR

IP

Check fabric

edge lines up

with mat.

SQUARE’S

QUILTER

RULER

SELVEDGE