When cutting fabric using a rotary cutter, lay the fabric on a cutting pad to avoid damaging the surface. Back in 1979, the first rotary cutter was introduced by OLFA, and it revolutionized sewing, making fabric... 2. If at all possible, beginning quilters should stick to one fold; each new fold makes inaccurate cuts more likely. So many people shy away from working with knits because they are stretchy and tend to be more slippery. Janet Wickell Fold the fabric along its length, selvages together. Crisp fabrics are easier to rotary cut. A rotary cutting mat should always be under the fabric when youâre using a rotary cutter. Avoid hand fatigue and work comfortably when you hold the cutter in the right position with precise alignment. Starting on the side of the fabric closest to your body, roll the cutter along the ruler away from your body with firm pressure. Rotary cutters cut a lot faster than scissors! Itâs another Fiskars, a stronger and ⦠A rotary cutter is used in making a long straight or curved cut into material. Before you make each cut check to be sure that the left and bottom edges of the fabric align with vertical and horizontal markings on the ruler. Afterward, they flip the fabric around and cut from the left. How do you use the rotary cutter? Spread your fingers out to hold the ruler securely, but take care to keep fingers out of the cutter's path. Place your rotary ruler near the right end of a cut strip, aligning a horizontal rule with its lower edge. The things you need to use the rotary cutter efficiently are mats (the self healing mat or a hard surface mat) and pattern weights. How long has it been since you treated yourself to a new rotary cutter ⦠New quilters can save money by practicing with inexpensive muslin or bargain fabrics before cutting more expensive quilting fabrics. SEWING. If you are still new to working with fabric, you may want to make sure you understand some basic terms and techniques.Â. Align the correct line on your ruler with the angled edge of the fabric and the 45-degree line with the fold. plastic foam in a snap-lid plastic food container. Use spray starch or sizing to make fabrics stiffer. Cutting is my least favorite step in sewing, so anything that makes it easier is a plus. How to Use a Rotary Cutter on Fleece After you choose the right size of blade, and you can go up to 60 mm if the fleece is really thick, you are ⦠This shifting can mak⦠Step 2 â The first cut will be to the right edge to square up the fabric. This tool is made specifically to be used with rotary cutters. To be honest, it is a matter of preference. Remove the square ruler. Slide the Omnigrid to the edge of the fabric until you reach your desired width. The square ruler's left edge should be near, but inside the left edge of the fabric, roughly where you will make your square cut. Place the fabric on the cutting mat, fold near the bottom edge, side to be squared on the left. The instructions for most quick-pieced quilt patterns tell you to rotary cut long strips of fabric from selvage to selvage, across the fabric's crosswise grain, and that's what we'll cover in this tutorial. I use the ruler as a guide to run my rotary cutter along. Hold the ruler in place and cut along its right edge. Various blade sizes can help you navigate through everything from intricate patterns to thick fabric and batting. Line up your ruler with the folded edge using the lines to make ⦠Because its blade operates at such high speed and is so thin, it allows detailed scroll cuts in a wide range of materials. Ashley Briggs from Olfa shows easy ways to use different rotary cutters that are available on Joann. It revolutionized how people cut fabric by switching them from using scissors to rolling a circular blade over the material. Accurate rotary cutting is essential for successful quilts and quilt blocks. After squaring up, the leading edge should be at a 90-degree angle to the fold. The bolt fold should be straight, with no pull lines. Then poke holes in the plastic foam with an awl to hold shafted bits, and slice crevices with a utility knife to hold cutoff discs. The first cutters had a straight handle and a 28 mm blade. Start with the rotary cutter positioned against the edge of the ruler, BELOW the fabric, and hold the rotary cutter at a 45 degree angle. If the piece has a bend in the middle, the fabric's left edge is no longer square. Align the 45-degree mark on a long rotary ruler with the fold in the fabric's bottom. A tractor mounted rotary cutter is different than a grooming mower. All rotary cutters have a bladeâ¦depending on the brand they have different sizes. She has published over 350+ articles for The Spruce Crafts. Place a long rotary ruler to the left of the first ruler on top of the leading edge of the fabric and flush against the square ruler. Extend the blade on your rotary cutter and place it right next to the ruler. Always roll the rotary cutter away from your body and follow any safety guidelines that came with your cutter. A rotary cutter, sometimes called a rotary fabric cutter, or fabric cutter roller is essentially a spring loaded circular razor blade that is attached to a handle (it looks a bit like a pizza cutter) that can be used to cut fabric or paper for sewing, quilting, and paper crafts. This is the best rotary cutter on the market! The hand holding the ruler should be ⦠This is because you have to lift your fabric up in order to cut it with fabric scissors. Many people use a rotary cutter (often referred to by the copyrighted name âBush Hogâ) to cut grass and weeds, but, in too many cases, the implement is not correctly adjusted. We prefer the method explained in the steps above since there's no need to flip the fabric around, which sometimes allows its layers to shift. QUILTING. Many types of grippers are available commercially, including clear versions that won't obstruct your view of ruler lines. The sharp blade cuts into the mat but doesnât leave any evidence behind that it ⦠Some quilters square up an edge from the right side of folded fabric, aligning a rule on the ruler with the bottom edge and trimming off a small excess on the right. With the edge squared up, it's time to rotary cut the fabric strips required for your project. Cut along the right edge of the ruler to square up the end of the strip. Turn the strip around and cut segments from its left edge in the same way you cut the original fabric strips, aligning the strip with markings on the ruler as required for each shape. Use medium sized or small rotary cutters like the 18 or ⦠Long (stretchy) bias strips are sometimes used to make quilt binding and for applique shapes that bend easily into graceful curves, such as flower stems. This ease-of-use is the reason that rotary cutters have won the admiration of quilters. Do not depend on the rotary cutting rulers for accurate measurements. (Best Overall) This model of Olfa 45mm rotary cutter is ⦠Scroll Cutting The Ryobi Speed Saw is especially useful for cutting odd or unusual shapes. Individual patchwork shapes can be sub-cut, understand some basic terms and techniques. Cut along the right side of the ruler with the rotary cutter. For example, use the 3 inch mark on the ruler to make a 3 inch wide strip. A rotary cutter allows me to simply lay out my pattern, put down some pattern weights, then cut cut cut! The rotary cutter will cut the fabric as it rolls. Align the mark on the long ruler that corresponds to your desired strip width to the left edge of the fabric. Cutting is my least favorite step in sewing, so anything that makes it easier is a plus. Check it lines up along the entire length of the ruler. A rotary cutter is basically a circular blade that ârotatesâ as it cuts! Some people still use scissors to cut fabric and itâs okay. Fold the fabric along its length, selvages together. Use rotary matâs gridlines only for positioning fabric. Janet is the author of the Rodale book "Classic American Quilt Collection: Stars" and has contributed to dozens of other books and patterns as both a writer and editor. Before you rotary cut the long strips required for a quilt pattern, it's important to square up one end of the fabric. You can find the kit here. Top 5 Ways to Use a Rotary Cutter 1. Disclosures, Subscribe below to receive the latest quilty news and offers from Cotton + Joy. The instructions are written for working right-handed. After my first quilt, I fell in love with a rotary cutter. If you are working on a small rotary cutting mat, you may need to fold the fabric lengthwise again, making it four layers deep. Friction-fit a piece of 3/4-in. Cricut does have a manual rotary cutter in their accessory cabinet! Fiskars Craft 60mm Rotary Cutter â Ideal for Thicker Materials. Read through all the instructions to get an overview of the process. I tried a few styles out, but seemed most attracted to the small size. Its perforating blade will, as the name implies, perforate paper. If you are cutting folded over pattern pieces with fabric scissors, you may find that the two layers of fabric shift around over each other. By using The Spruce Crafts, you accept our, How to Make Magic 8 Half Square Triangle Units, How to Sew an Easy Log Cabin Quilt Pattern, How to Make Easy Half Square Triangle Units for Quilts, Definition of a Fat Quarter of Fabric and How It Is Cut, Facts About Fabric Grain that Every Quilter Should Know, How to Choose the Best Tools for Beginning Quilters, Easy Baby Quilt Patterns for Brand New Quilters, Use This Easy Method to Make Quilt Binding Strips. Not only does this produce a more straight line, it takes more accurate measurements for hems and buttons. If you are left-handed, work from the opposite side of the fabric, placing fabric and rulers in mirror-image positions. This can cause premature wear, poor quality of cut, and an excessive power requirement. These qualities make them so comfortable to wear, but kind of annoying while cutting. Rotary cut along the right side of the ruler again.Â. Never use a rotary cutter on any surface other than a rotary mat. Unprotected surfaces will be permanently scarred, and youâll dull the rotary cutter blade. Continue until you have the number of bias strips required for your quilting project. The rotary cutting mat is also called a self-healing cutting mat. Get DIY project ideas and easy-to-follow crafts to help you spruce up your space. It offers an adjustable cutting height from 1½ to 9 inches (4 â 23 cm). Attach gripping tabs to the bottom of rotary rulers to help keep them from slipping on fabric. Rotary cutters are extremely sharp and will cut you! Lay the fabric out on a smooth cutting surface. Learn about correct hand positioning to cut through layers of fabric. How to cut a straight line on fabric using the right tools. Step 1 â Take your fabric piece and lay it on your cutting mat, so the raw edge is on the right side. Tips for Using a Rotary Cutter. OLFAâs rotary cutters are used around the world today. This rotary-bit organizer may just inspire a renaissance of rotary tool use in your shop. Correct the problem, and move on. To cut with a rotary cutter, keep the fabric layers and pattern if you are using that on the mat together with pattern weights. Make sure a horizontal line near the bottom of the ruler lines up with the fold. Rotary cutters are also ideal for smooth cuts through multiple layers of fabric, and can be quicker and more ergonomic, for some, to use. However, it's fine to work with shorter strips until you are comfortable with long ones, and strips of fabric cut along the fabric's less stretchy lengthwise grain work nicely, too. To make sure the leading edge of the fabric is at a 90-degree angle to the bottom of the strip, open one of your rotary-cut strips to its full width and look at the area near the fold. And we had been sewing, quilting, and cutting fabric long before a rotary cutter came along. The end of your fabric is now squared up. Do this slowly at first, or you'll risk cutting your pattern. This is used to cut lengths of fabric (normally in conjunction with this Acrylic Ruler and Self-healing mat). You do not want the fabric layers to shift. Line up the fold with one of the horizontal lines on the cutting mat, or, if your mat is unlined, use a square rotary ruler. If the reverse side of my cutting mat werenât so dirty, I would use that because it has no lines to distract me. Roll the cutting blade along the pattern line. Rotary cutting long strips of fabric is the starting point for most rotary cutting tasks used in today's quilt patterns, especially strip-pieced quilting projects. Individual patchwork shapes can be sub-cut from strips as needed. I broke my wrist earlier this year it was very hard for me to cut 2 layers of fabric because of having to use pressure on the cutter. Always check the state of your tools: is the blade of the rotary cutter sharp? It's not unusual for the leading edge of the fabric to become out of square after several cuts. The fabric's cut edge should now be at a 90-degree angle to the folded edge. Use medium sized or small rotary cutters like the 18 or 28mm for curved cuts, tight corners, and trimming seams. A rotary cutter is designed to cut rough plant material, from thick pasture grass to tree saplings with trunks up to 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick. Always rotary cut fabric using a rotary mat to protect your work surface. Itâs very easy to slide your hand in the path of the rotary cutter so make sure your hand stays completely on the ruler and off the path. With this cutter, because it is heavier, I do not need to push down to cut my fabric - less pain in my wrist. Place your hand firmly in the vertical center of the long ruler to hold it in place and roll a rotary cutter from bottom to top along the ruler's right edge. The rotary cutter may be easier on your wrist as you roll the blade instead of using your wrist and fingers to maneuver the blade. Video Demo of a ⦠Square up as many times as necessary to keep strips accurate. Your email address will not be published. A rotary cutter allows me to simply lay out my pattern, put down some pattern weights, then cut cut cut! Use a ruler to produce the straightest lines possible. Old Rotary Cutter Blade. However, just as scissors have evolved, so too has the rotary cutter. A rotary cutter is one of those small things that can make your (sewing) life easier. Line up the crisp folded edge to the bottom of your mat. The Spruce Crafts uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. When using a cutter for the first time, go slowly to keep lines fluid. Lay the Omnigrid ruler horizontally on top of the fabric. If they do not, square up the end again before cutting more strips. Make sure a. This one was submitted via my question form and asked, âHow do you cut straight?â So Iâm going to share how to use a rotary cutter today, which, when combined with a ruler and a mat, can get you perfectly straight cuts. It fits my hand perfect, runs around curves like nobodies businessâ¦and so- I use it every day. Dull blades cut poorly, and are more of a safety concern than sharp ones. After all, the first rotary cutter was manufactured in 1979. Nothing can turn out the numerous strips and blocks needed for patchwork patterns faster than a 45mm rotary⦠Make sure to hover over the cutter as it moves to catch any missteps. Use tissue or a dry cloth to remove fibers or lint off the blade. For best results, align the tool with a grid ruler. Hey yâall, today Iâm answering another of your sewing questions. The bolt fold should be straight, with no pull lines. I also bought the 6 x 24 ruler. When using a string, be sure not to allow the string to become caught in the rotary cutter. How to Use a Rotary Cutter: This video provides a basic introduction to using a rotary cutter to cut perfect fabric strips for quilting (or other projects).Let me apologize in advance for my video technique-- it was a one take deal and I think you'll get the idea.If you have a⦠Yoshio Okada also invented the worldâs first rotary cutter. If it isn't, press out the bold fold and refold it with selvages matched and parallel. Since I often worked with knits, transferring this technique into cutting the ribbing for neck and waist bands was a natural jump. A commercial tool such as the RuleSteady can help keep fabrics from shifting and protect your hand. Olfa 45mm Deluxe Ergonomic Rotary Cutter. Use even pressure the entire way through each cut; this ensures that all materials will receive an even cut. ; this ensures that all materials will receive an even cut or bargain fabrics cutting. Cutting mat is also called a self-healing cutting mat, so the raw edge is no longer.... 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