Even a quilt we may call "our labor of love" is more cherished when quicker methods of construction can be employed to cut down on the time required to complete our beauty.
Many a quilt idea has been shelved because the quiltmaker dreaded the time-consuming job of cutting the pieces or shapes individually with templates before the design could grow into a thing of beauty.
Here is a great time-saver for cutting a large number of identical pieces for a traditional design or for cutting geometric shapes that will be combined with strip-pieced sections.
The secret is using the rotary cutter to cut fabric strips from which basic template shapes are then cut, meaning that usually no more than two sides of the shape remain to be cut.
By stacking several strips with one marked strip on top, the cutting job goes very fast.
This method will save fabric and enable you to easily calculate fabric yardage.
Make a stiff template of the desired patch, adding 1/4" seam allowances on all sides.
On the template mark the fabric grain line, the pattern-piece letter, and the fabric color to be used.
Cut the fabric yardage at one end on the straight crosswise grain.
Fold once down the center and pin the two layers together.
To determine the strip width, place the template on the cut edge of the fabric following the grain line, then measure and mark the height ofthe template across the folded fabric in several places.
Place the folded fabric on the cutting mat and cut one strip on the markings, using a thick acrylic ruler as a guide for a rotary cutter.
Open out the fabric strip and place the template across the strip, matching the arrow on the template and the fabric grain line.
Mark only the edges of the template that fall within the strip, not the edges that fall on the strip edges.
Patches may touch one another, sharing one cutting line, thus saving fabric and cutting time.
Depending on the number of patches required for a quilt, one marked strip might be sufficient, or you could need several marked strips.
The marked strip will be used as a cutting guide.
Place it over the straight cut end of the folded fabric and rotary cut subsequent strips using the acrylic ruler on the edge of the marked strip.
Be careful that you are not trimming threads from the cutting-guide strip because that will make all of the strips inaccurate.
Stack four to eight open strips right sides up with the marked strip on top.
Pin within the markings for each patch, not across a line.
If some shapes are to be cut in reverse, alternate the strips right side up and right side down in the stack so that shapes will be cut in pairs.
(Adjust the number of "up" strips and "down" strips as necessary to end up with the required number of patches.
) Place the acrylic ruler on the straight marked lines that cross the strip (shown on the drawings as heavier lines), then rotary cut those lines.
After the long straight lines are cut, sharp scissors then can be used to cut curves and short lines.
It is most efficient to rotary cut long lines first and use scissors on the other lines last.
The presser foot on many sewing machines measures 1/4" from the needle to the right edge and can be used as a seam gauge for machine sewing these shapes.
If needed, a gauge can be marked on the throat plate of the machine by placing a piece of masking tape 1/4" from the needle when it is in the down position.
For hand sewing, the seam lines can be marked on the wrong side of each patch.
An easy way to do this is to make a second, stiff template of the shape without the seam allowances.
Center it on the wrong side of the cut patch, and trace around it with a pencil.
When marking patches, a sandpaper surface will keep the patch from slipping.
If you are an experienced piecer and can gauge the 1/4" seam allowance by eye, you can mark a pencil dot in the comers where the sewing lines will meet and sew from dot to dot.
This will work great on finished quilt edges.
When hand piecing, leave the seam allowances free.