All the patterns say “Square Your Fabric” but what does it mean!? Often when the fabric has been cut in a shop, it arrives less than straight. Before you can swiftly use your rotary cutter you need to prepare a straight edge to work with.

My favorite tools for cutting fabric can be found here. 


This piece of fabric had some extra funky folds in it, and looked like they had been on the bolt that way for a long time, which makes it a great example!

Check out my video on using a rotary cutter safely, and other cutting tips!

Squaring Fabric

1. First, you need to press your fabric to eliminate any creases or folds in the fabric.

2. Fold your fabric, selvage to selvage. In the photo above there is a bubble in the fold at the bottom.
3. Adjust your selvage edges, left to right until the fold lays flat. I do this with my fingertips, and scoot the edges one way or the other until it is laying flat.

4. Lay it down on the cutting mat and get ready to cut. Notice that the cut edges are NOT together (that’s what we need to fix!).

5. I’m using home decor fabric that is 60″ wide which means I needed to fold the fabric a second time. Usually, this is not the case unless your cutting mat or ruler is shorter than 24″.
6. Next, line up your folded edge along a straight line at the bottom of your cutting mat.

7. Check the depth that is needed to cut to have a continuous straight edge.
8. Bring on the ruler, and cut. Your fabric should be lined up straight on the bottom folded edge, and your ruler should be matched up with the grid lines.
9. Now you should have a nice edge to begin cutting your quilt pieces! If you are cutting more than a few strips, you will want to re-square your fabric often, especially if you feel your ruler slip. I typically re-square with every cutting mat width.
Fabric Details – Denyse Schmidt’s County Fair has been used in this tutorial.

I hope that helps you as you are squaring fabric!

Amy

Check out my Dart quilt, to put your scrap bin into your next quilt!

Accurate cutting starts with squaring your fabric, before you cut your pieces. Learn how here! - AmysCreativeSide.com