Slicing the Cake

Do you have some pretty fabric?

Good, now go post a picture of it in the Flickr group. I want to drool over it before you start cutting it up!

After you do that, open it up and pet it for a few minutes, fabric likes to be adored.

Then lay it out and let's start slicing. We're going to cut the layer cake first, then the fat quarter. Just follow the part that pertains to you. 

Layer Cake

First thing we're going to do is cut the 10" square into two pieces

Line your layer cake square up within the grid on your cutting mat

Then measure over 7", lining your ruler up with the vertical line

And make a cut

Take that 3"x10" piece and put it in your scrap bin. Seriously, don't throw it away!

Grab your 7"x10" piece and rotate it so that the 10" side is laying horizontally

Line it up on the markings on your mat again and measure over 3.5"

Cut it off

Now you have two cuts of fabric, one that is 6.5"x7" and one that is 3.5"x7"

Take the 3.5"x7" piece and turn it so the long side is laying horizontally

Now cut it in half, on the 3.5" mark. This will give you two pieces that are 3.5" square

Take the piece that is 6.5"x7" and cut .5" off of the 6.5" side and 1" off of the 7" side so that it ends up 6" square

You will end up with one 6" square and two 3.5" squares

Here is a visual if you need it

If you have another way that you prefer to cut into your layer cake, go for it. The reason I did it this way was to get those long scrap strips. I'm thinking about either using mine for a scrappy border or a scrappy binding. There is another way to cut it that will yield square scraps if you'd rather have that.

Also, when you cut your fabric feel free to use the markings on your ruler instead of the ones on your mat if you prefer and if you have a wide enough ruler.

Fat Quarters

Please read the entire cutting instructions before you get started.

Lay out your fat quarter. It should be a perfect 18"x22" cut. It may be 21", and that's ok. If the edges aren't straight go ahead and straighten them up. Be careful when trimming the 18" side that you don't cut too much, we need the full 18".

Line it up in the grid on your mat so that the 18" side is vertical and the 22" side is horizontal

Measure 6" (and pretend like mine is lined up on the horizontal line like it's supposed to be)

and make a cut

Measure another 6"

And cut again

Then measure 3.5"

And cut

Measure another 3.5"

And cut again

You should have two 6" strips and two 3.5" strips, plus a scrap. Put that scrap in your scrap bin

Now turn one of your 6" strips horizontally and line it up in the grid

Measure 6"

And cut

Repeat until you have three 6" squares

Then repeat with the other strip

Then put one of those squares in your scrap bin, you only need five.

Now take your 3.5" strip and line it up

Measure 3.5" 

and cut

Repeat until you have five 3.5" squares and a scrap piece, throw that scrap away

Repeat with the other 3.5" strip for a total of ten 3.5" squares

And don't worry, I am NOT using this fabric with the one you saw pictured above, this was just a scrap fabric :)

Here is a visual for cutting the fat quarter if you need it

I only want you to cut 8 of your fat quarters this way!! 

For the 9th, you only need two 6" squares and four 3.5" squares

 

When you're done you should have 42 6" squares and 84 3.5" squares. Try to keep them together as sets, one 6" and two 3.5" squares in each set.

Cutting your solid

I'm going to refer you to a post from the first quilt along for cutting into your yardage. Reason for this is because apparently Moda Snow has become my go to solid and I have this:

I figured I'd better use it up

Following the instructions from this post:

http://distantpickles.blogspot.com/2009/12/cutting-squares.html

Fold your fabric selvage to selvage and cut your solid into 3.5" strips. You will need to cut 6 strips

Then sub-cut your strips into 3.5" squares. Each strip should yield twelve 3.5" squares for a total of 72 squares.

Put what you have left of your solid aside for now. We are going to do a little bit more cutting on it later.

Get to cutting!