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Posted by Anne Donnelly on March 30, 2006, 5:13 am
Hi,
I warned you there might be some basic (stupid) questions!
I'm going to try to make a bedspread. It will be a rectangle of fabric
about the width of the bed with a narrower rectangle attached to each
side to drop down the sides of the bed. There's nothing fancy at the
bottom because it will tuck under the mattress (the bed has a
foot-board).
How do I manage to cut these rectangles with straight edges ? I've
dressmakers chalk so I can mark the lines but how do I make sure
they're straight. Do I need a very long ruler ? Or are there some
simple tricks to use ? If it matters the fabric is a plain dark green.
Thanks,
Anne
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Posted by Kate Dicey on March 30, 2006, 7:03 am
Anne Donnelly wrote:
show/hide quoted text
> Hi,
>
> I warned you there might be some basic (stupid) questions!
>
> I'm going to try to make a bedspread. It will be a rectangle of fabric
> about the width of the bed with a narrower rectangle attached to each
> side to drop down the sides of the bed. There's nothing fancy at the
> bottom because it will tuck under the mattress (the bed has a
> foot-board).
>
> How do I manage to cut these rectangles with straight edges ? I've
> dressmakers chalk so I can mark the lines but how do I make sure
> they're straight. Do I need a very long ruler ? Or are there some
> simple tricks to use ? If it matters the fabric is a plain dark green.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Anne
A yard stick or a tape measure and any longer straight edged bit of wood
will do fine.
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!
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Posted by Joy Beeson on March 30, 2006, 9:58 am
On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 11:13:36 +0100, Anne Donnelly
show/hide quoted text
> How do I manage to cut these rectangles with straight edges ?
The classic method is to *tear* the fabric -- it breaks between the
threads to make perfectly-straight edges. But some fabrics are too
strong to tear, some are irregular and won't tear straight, some have
slick threads that will pull inches or feet into the body of the
fabric before they break, and knits have no parallel threads to tear
between. If the fabric is a blend of two or more fibers and one of
them is synthetic, it's almost certain *not* to tear neatly.
On most woven fabrics a thread can be drawn to mark a cutting line.
It's easiest to cut along such a line with a rolling knife and a small
mat: sit at the table, cut six inches or a foot, pull more of the
line into clear, close view. But a thread that is very weak, very
fuzzy, or very lumpy will be very hard to draw.
Some threads are most visible when merely tightened, some need to be
shifted enough to move the red bits of thread into the blue spots on
the fabric, some are best removed entirely -- and on some crepes,
*nothing* will make the thread visible, not even a microscope.
If you succeed in drawing a thread on a knit, you won't need to cut
along the line -- the fabric will fall apart when the thread is
removed. But only weft knits have threads can be drawn, and all the
threads (as the name implies) run across the fabric.
Some fabrics have features that can be used to guide cutting: Stripes
and plaids are obvious; most woven-in patterns have features that line
up with the grain. If the fabric is printed -- and if you're sure the
printing was *straight* -- you can use a ruler to mark between
corresponding points in the repeat. (REMOVABLE markers are the best
invention since zig-zag! But don't trust 'em without testing them on
the exact fabric you intend to mark.)
When all else fails, measuring over from the selvage usually comes
pretty close.
Joy Beeson
--
http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ -- needlework
http://roughsewing.home.comcast.net/
http://n3f.home.comcast.net/ -- Writers' Exchange
joy beeson at comcast dot net
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Posted by Veloise on March 30, 2006, 12:20 pm
Joy wrote:
...
show/hide quoted text
> On most woven fabrics a thread can be drawn to mark a cutting line.
> It's easiest to cut along such a line with a rolling knife and a small
> mat: sit at the table, cut six inches or a foot, pull more of the
> line into clear, close view. But a thread that is very weak, very
> fuzzy, or very lumpy will be very hard to draw.
By "draw" Joy means to start at one cut edge, separate the woven
threads a bit so you can grab just one, and pull it out of the weave.
It is likely to break several times across the fabric width, but you
can find the track it left and then pick it up again where it broke.
Good lighting helps this process!
This will leave a perfectly straight slot all the way across the
fabric, and your scissors wil magically stay in that groove. Sortof.
HTH
--Karen D.
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Posted by Sally Holmes on March 30, 2006, 11:14 am
Anne Donnelly wrote:
show/hide quoted text
> I'm going to try to make a bedspread. It will be a rectangle [...]
>
> How do I manage to cut these rectangles with straight edges ?
Easiest way I know of is to tear, as Joy has said. Second easiest is
to use a tiled floor. Cut or tear the selvedge off, so you know you
have one edge that's straight. Line that edge up with a line of the
tiles. Find another tile line that's perpendicular. Move the fabric up
and down the first line until the second is where you want to cut; cut
along the second line. If you have a wide grout gap you can feel the
scissors move along it.
A simple square corner can be found on a newspaper.
Sally Holmes
Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England
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>
> I warned you there might be some basic (stupid) questions!
>
> I'm going to try to make a bedspread. It will be a rectangle of fabric
> about the width of the bed with a narrower rectangle attached to each
> side to drop down the sides of the bed. There's nothing fancy at the
> bottom because it will tuck under the mattress (the bed has a
> foot-board).
>
> How do I manage to cut these rectangles with straight edges ? I've
> dressmakers chalk so I can mark the lines but how do I make sure
> they're straight. Do I need a very long ruler ? Or are there some
> simple tricks to use ? If it matters the fabric is a plain dark green.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Anne