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.
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.
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.
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.
That is the method I generally use, too, when sewing linens. It seems tedious at first but one gets the hang of it pretty fast. A good pair of tweezers and excellent light help. But if the fabric is warped on the bolt (as so many are these days) and has been treated in some way (also nearly ubiquitous), it will never straighten properly. So it pays to use high quality fabric.
I covered my cutting table with clear sticky-back paper on which I drew an grid in 1 cm increments; horizontally & vertically. When I need a straight line, I tape the selvedge to the edge of the table aligning the cut edge to the end. I have a very long rod which I use for marking, then cut along that line.
I have real problems holding the ruler steady when using a rotary cutter, especially when making those long cuts. I have solved the problem by using a small Black & Decker clamp on one end of my cutting table on the ruler end, which holds everything in place. Then I hold the other end of the ruler steady, and do the cutting. No more slipping.
-Irene
-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20
I use a carpenter's folding ruler whenever I need a two-yard stick. It isn't good for marking a straight line, though; I've seriously considered getting a chalk line.
And, come to think of it, some of the twine I harbor *is* chalk line
-- all I need to do is rub it with tailor's chalk and work out a way to anchor the other end . . .
I keep a stainless-steel "pocket ruler" handy, both for quick measurements and for marking short lines.
Since one can't buy six-ply cotton sewing thread on spools, I snitched an antique hand drill to wind thread off the ball onto a nearly- antique 500-yard wooden spool. The point of a chopstick wound with string holds the spool.
When I couldn't wind bobbins on the sewing machine for some reason, I borrowed an electric screwdriver.
I've got to go window shopping at Ace real soon now.
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