You have your fabric right? Yes? Ok, here we go!
If you have charm packs, skip this part, you're all set. We'll see you next week ;)
For this step you'll need your fabric, iron, rotary cutter, self healing mat and ruler. If you want to pre-wash your fabric go ahead and do that now. If you're unsure about pre-washing check out the discussion thread here. Feel free to ask your own questions if you're still undecided.
I am going to be as explicit as possible in giving these instructions so that our beginners don't get overwhelmed. Experienced people just bear with us! Also remember that the way I am going to show is the way that works best for me. If you know a way that works better for you, please feel free to do it your way.
I will separate this post into sections to cause the least amount of confusion. One section will be for 1/2 yard (or larger) cuts, one for fat quarters and one for those of you not using a self healing mat and rotary cutter. Just skip to the part that pertains to you.
First things first...
First iron all your fabric. It needs to be nice and smooth and free of bumps and wrinkles to help make sure your cuts are nice and straight.
Put the fabric that you will use for the binding aside. We'll get to that later in the quilt along and you definitely don't want to confuse it and accidentally cut it into squares!
1/2 yard cuts or larger
Take your first cut of fabric and lay it right side down
Fold your fabric from selvage to selvage, lining the selvages up as best you can. The selvage is the printed end of the fabric, or (if yours isn't printed) it's the part that is pre-cut from the manufacturer.
Fold it one more time, lining that up with the selvages as well.
Rotating your fabric, line the folded side of the fabric up with a horizontal line on your self healing mat. The cut edges will be on the left and right.
When you line it up on the horizontal line, have the edge of the fabric just a tad to the right of a vertical line, as pictured.
Grab your ruler. Line it up on the fabric like pictured. See how the horizontal line of the ruler is on the folded edge of the fabric and the edge is lined up with that vertical line? If you have a ruler with a lip edge, use that to line it with the vertical line.
Cut that edge off.
Measure 5 inches and make a cut. Since your fabric is lined up with a vertical line, the mat will measure it for you!
Repeat this process two more times. You will end up with 3 cuts of fabric measuring 5"x44" (or the length of your fabric) and one scrap piece approximately 3-4 inches wide.
Open up one of your newly cut strips. Line it up on your mat to where the selvage lines up vertically and the cut edge lines up horizontally. You're going to cut the selvage off so make sure you line it up just to the right of a vertical line like you did before.
Cut off the selvage.
Again, measure 5 inches and cut.
Repeat this process until your whole strip is cut into 5 inch squares. You will have to move your strip and re-align it. Then repeat with the other strips.
Repeat this process until your whole strip is cut into 5 inch squares. You will have to move your strip and re-align it. Then repeat with the other strips.
You should end up with a nice stack of squares
And some scraps that look something like this
Don't throw them away! You can get creative with them later ;)
Repeat all the steps with your other fabrics.
There are a couple of shortcuts you can take to cut the strips faster, like lining them up in rows on your mat...
...or stacking them on top of each other.
If you feel confidant enough to try to cut them at the same time, be my guest. Just be careful because if you don't you can end up with squares that have uneven edges or don't get cut to the right size. If you're a beginner I suggest just taking them one at a time. You have a whole week to cut your fabric, why rush? :)
Fat Quarters
Take your first cut of fabric and lay it right side down
Fold it in half, lining up the edges. It doesn't matter if you fold it on the longer or shorter edge, the results will be the same.
Rotate your fabric so that your folded edge is horizontal. Line that folded edge up with a horizontal line on your mat. When lining it up on the horizontal, leave the right edge of the fabric just a tad to the right of a vertical line. There may be a selvage on the right edge. If there is, line that up to the right of the vertical line. You are going to cut the edge to get it nice and straight.
Grab your ruler and line it up on the fabric as pictured below. Notice how the horizontal line on the ruler lines up with the folded edge of the fabric and the edge of the ruler lines up with the vertical line on the mat. If you have a ruler with a lip edge, use that lip to line the ruler up with the vertical line.
Cut the edge off.
Now measure over 5 inches from the newly cut edge of your fabric and make another cut. Since the fabric is lined up on that vertical line the mat will do all the measuring for you!
Repeat until you can't cut any more 5 inch widths of fabric. How many times you cut will depend on which side you folded it on. You will end up with either 3 or 4 5 inch strips.
Open up one of your strips of fabric and lay it on the mat. Mine was nice and straight because I had to cut a 1/2 yard into a fat quarter to do this tutorial. You may have to line it up just to the right of the vertical line and cut it like you did above to get the straight edge..
Now measure 5 inches and make a cut. Repeat this process until the whole strip is cut into 5 inch squares. You may have to move your fabric over and re-align it during this process.
Repeat for the other strips, then repeat the whole process for your remaining fabrics. You'll end up with a nice stack of 5 inch squares and some scraps. Don't throw away your scraps! You can get creative with them later ;)
Using an easy square
If you have a 5 inch square, you can use your fabric marking pen to trace around it onto the fabric, then cut the squares out using your fabric scissors.
Or you can use your mat and rotary cutter and follow these directions:
Lay your fabric flat on your mat, right side up.
If you have a 5 inch square, then put it on the edge of your fabric. You may need to cut the edges of your fabric first to make them nice and straight. Then just cut around the square.
My square is obviously 6 1/2 inches, just pretend it's 5 inches, ok? Ok :)
Or you can use your mat and rotary cutter and follow these directions:
Lay your fabric flat on your mat, right side up.
If you have a 5 inch square, then put it on the edge of your fabric. You may need to cut the edges of your fabric first to make them nice and straight. Then just cut around the square.
If you have a larger square, you will need to line the 5 inch mark of the square up with the edges of the fabric, then cut the fabric on the other two sides.
Repeat this process until all of your fabrics are cut into 5 inch squares.
No rotary cutter and self healing mat?
The cutting process will be a long one for you. My suggestion is to get a paper grocery sack and, using a ruler and pencil, measure and cut out a 5 inch square. Pin that square to the edge of one of your fabrics and use it as a pattern to cut the square from your fabric. Repeat this process until all of your fabrics have been cut into squares. Or, get a self healing mat and rotary cutter :)
You have one week....
We will move onto the sewing portion next week, so get cutting! If you have any questions the discussion group is located here.
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