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JUDY MARTIN'S DESIGNER SECRETS
Short strips make short work
of cutting and piecing!
We all know that the lengthwise grain of the fabric is more stable than the crosswise grain. If you have any doubts, hold a piece of fabric with your hands six inches apart on the crosswise grain, bring your hands together, then quickly pull the fabric outward with a snap. Now repeat on the lengthwise grain.
Even with the selvages removed, the lengthwise grain is significantly firmer. Furthermore, on any fabric, the printed pattern aligns perfectly with the lengthwise grain, but often does not follow the crosswise threads.
If the lengthwise grain is more stable, however, why are we taught to rotary-cut strips on the crosswise grain?
To quote the Lost in Space robot, "This does not compute." It's time to proclaim that the Crosswise Strips Emperor is wearing no clothes!
Let's think about this for a minute. Just because you learned rotary cutting with crosswise strips doesn't mean you can't do better. The solution is so obvious, I don't know why we haven't been using it all along.
What could be easier than cutting 18-inch lengthwise strips from half-yards and fat quarters? When I introduced this concept in Yes You Can! Make Stunning Quilts From Simple Patterns, I called these short strips. When I cut nine-inch strips from quarter-yards, I called them mini strips.
With short strips, you don't have to choose between following the print or following the thread. You can have it both ways! You don't have to choose between stable grain and quick cutting. You can have it both ways! You don't have to choose between scrappy variety and quick cutting. Again, you can have it both ways! This might be the one exception to your mother's old adage that if it sounds too good to be true, it is.
Even though many rotary-cut shapes end up with sides on both the lengthwise and the crosswise grains, you will do better to start with a lengthwise cut. It's always best to start with your best foot forward. Some shapes, such as diamonds, are cut with two sides on the straight grain and two on the bias. Short strips yield a lengthwise edge and a bias edge, whereas crosswise strips yield a less-stable crosswise edge and a bias one.
Often, when you cut crosswise strips, you cut through two to four layers of folded fabric to yield one 44-inch strip per cut. With four layers of fabric for short strips, you will get total strip lengths of 72 to 88 inches from a single cut. Hey, that's a lot faster!
I like scrap quilts, and I don't want to use 44 inches of any one fabric, let alone 72 or 88 inches. Instead, I layer four different fat quarters or half-yards, aligning lengthwise grains, and cut four different 18-inch strips in one stroke. I still get 72 inches of strip length from one stroke.
Sometimes, when I want maximum scrap variety, I use quarter-yards for mini strips that are just nine inches long. Layering four fabrics offers the further advantage of easier alignment and more precise cutting, because there is no fold. This fact alone can make a big difference to accuracy.
You can cut short strips on the lengthwise grain by using the same strip and patch dimensions as you'd normally use for crosswise strips. Simply make the first cut parallel to the selvage. If you're following a pattern that calls for 44-inch strips, the yardage for short strips should be approximately the same.
You will need two and a half times as many 18-inch strips to yield the same number of patches as you can get from crosswise strips. But by cutting short strips through four layers, you can be done in about two-thirds the time it takes to cut ordinary crosswise strips.
If you're accustomed to cutting fabric with the lengthwise grain running from right to left on the table, you don't have to change your position. Simply layer your fabrics with the selvages parallel to the front edge of your mat. Trim off the selvages together, then measure from the trimmed edge. Short strips are short enough to cut from right to left or from left to right. Directions are the same for right- and left-handers. People like me, who are easily confused about right and left and who can't remember which end to trim, will find this method infallible!
Short strips are great for strip piecing, since their shortness makes them easy to hold in proper alignment as you feed them into the sewing machine. They're also terrific for cutting individual patches in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
Give short strips a try. The perfect grain will instantly improve your patchwork. Let's get some clothes onto that old emperor!
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