Back LET’S BE SQUARE

Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5

If you want your blocks to lay flat and square you should start by squaring up your fabric. Lay fabric right side down on the cutting mat with the selvage edge away from you (figure 1). Fold the fabric in half with the wrong side inside and the selvages together (figure 2). Be sure and have the selvages even at the top. Fold the fabric in half again, aligning the first folded edge with the selvage edges (figure 3). Lightly hand-crease all the folds. Now you are ready to begin rotary cutting. Position fabric with selvage edges away from you and the bulk of your fabric to your left (to the right for left handers). With the ruler on top of the fabric, align the horizontal grid line on the ruler with the lower edge of the folded fabric leaving about one inch of fabric exposed along the right-hand edge of the ruler (see figure 4). Hold the ruler firmly in place with your left spreading your fingers apart slightly and keeping them away from the edge of the ruler. Apply pressure to the ruler with your fingertips. With the rotary cutter handle at a angle to the mat and with the blade against the ruler’s edge, roll the blade against the ruler’s edge all the way across the width of the fabric. Now you will always have a straight edge from which to measure all future cuts. Should your ruler slip and you lose your straight edge, simply square it up again. Then continue cutting your blocks. You should always try to use the same ruler throughout your project just incase there is a slight difference in markings on different rulers.