How to starch, Press, and Cut Your Quilting Fabric: A guide for Beginner Quilters
It's week 3 of the Truckee Quilt Along!
I'm so excited to share this simple pattern with you (get the free pattern here if you don't have it yet), and I know there are a lot of beginner quilters joining the sew along. I want to go over some basics of preparing, pressing, and cutting your quilting fabrics so you can feel confident making your first quilt.
Starching
The reason we add starch to fabric is to stiffen it and prevent it from stretching and wrinkling while we work with it. As a beginner quilter, it's important to know that if you skip this step, it's very difficult to get accurate measurements and cuts; your entire quilt could end up a mess. Never cut wrinkled fabric! Trust me, I've skipped this step so many times due to impatience; I thought I could get by with some simple hand pressing, and I always ended up wasting fabric due to inaccurate cuts. Starching and pressing can cause the fabric to shrink a tiny bit, so make sure you complete this step before you do any cutting.
Starching your fabric will greatly increase the accuracy of your blocks.
What is the best starch to use for quilting fabric?
While there's no universal answer to this, I can share my favorite. I tend to use Faultless premium spray starch, which get the fabric nice and crisp. It can be found at most grocery stores or on Amazon (click the photo to shop; this is an affiliate link):
While there are starch alternatives out ther, (sizing, etc) it doesn't get the fabric stiff enough, in my opinion.
Pressing surface
Make sure your surface is hard and stable. I prefer not to use an ironing board, because it feels soft and isn't totally stable when pressing. We want to get the fabric totally flat and prevent it from shifting while we press. You can make your own pressing surface with a piece of plywood covered with cotton batting, and cotton canvas on the top. The canvas grips the fabric and stops it from shifting.
I personally prefer to use a wool pressing mat. The wool mat is especially helpful during piecing, as it retains heat and heats the fabric from below as you press. It basically presses both sides of the fabric at the same time, cutting your pressing time in half! Wool mats absorb moisture, so if you're pressing fabric that is damp, you want to be extra careful about protecting the table underneath the mat. In this case, I suggest placing a folded towel between the table and the mat. I've linked the one I like to use in the photo below. (This is an affilate link).
Iron
Make sure the bottom of your iron is clean before you start pressing. If it has any kind of buildup, it can transfer to your quilting cotton. Here is a good iron cleaner (click on the photo to shop; this is an affiliate link):
Quilting cotton is 100% cotton, so use that setting (typically high heat) on your iron. Once you really get into quilting, you might want to invest in two different irons. I use a big one to press yardage or large cuts and when spray basting a quilt, and I use a smaller iron when piecing. The two below are my favorites; you can click on the picture to shop (these are affiliate links).
How to starch quilting fabric
- Step 1
- Begin by spraying starch on the wrong side of the fabric. Spraying starch directly onto the right side of the fabric can leave some unsightly residue; (not the biggest deal in the world, since your quilt will be washed eventually). The starch and fabric tend to resist one another, so after the fabric is moderately soaked, scrunch the fabric with your hands to encourage the starch to sink into the quilting cotton.
- Now you have a choice to make: you can let the fabric dry completely by air drying it outside or placing it in the dryer on high heat for 5 minutes, then press, OR you can start pressing while your fabric is still a bit damp, as long as you don't mind your mat getting a little starchy.
- If you want your fabric to feel like cardstock (especially helpful for intricate piecing), try starching, putting the fabric into the dryer, and then starching again before pressing.
- Step 2
- Turn the fabric so it is wrong side up and press. This further encourages the starch to bond with the fabric. Pressing on the right side of the fabric often causes the starch to flake off. Make sure you are pressing rather than ironing. Resist the urge to move the iron around and glide it across your fabric. Instead, place the iron down on the fabric, press, the lift the iron and repeat in another spot.
Cutting
We are only working with 10-inch pieces for the Truckee quilt, but if you are cutting from larger pieces for a quilt, I would suggest cutting your fabric down into 1-yard increments and working from there.
As a beginner quilter, it's crucial to have the right supplies before you start cutting. A good cutting mat, a new rotary cutter, and a long straight quilting ruler are all you need (aside from a sewing machine and thread) to get started.
How to choose a quality cutting mat
When I was a beginner quilter, I started out with a clear hobby mat with grid lines as my cutting mat. It was somewhat slippery, which made cutting dangerous, and it developed grooves from my rotary blade very quickly, which resulted in my blade skipping over my fabric often. I didn't realize what I was missing until I bought a mat made specifically for fabric cutting. You don't need a huge mat to start, but my favorite brand is Olfa. This is the one I use:
This brand even makes folding cutting mats, which are super handy if you are short on space!
How to choose a rotary blade size
When I started quilting, this really stumped me. I remember standing at the back of a quilt shop and staring at a wall full of cutting tools. The store was busy, and I didn't want to look clueless, so I threw about 10 different products into my basket. Don't do what I did! These tools are expensive, and in my opinion, there are only two that you'll really need. There are two main blade sizes that I use: 45mm and 60mm. I tend to use the smaller blade for cutting single fabric layers or smaller pieces, and I use the larger blade for cutting multiple layers of fabric. Here are examples of my favorites below; click the pictures to shop (these are affiliate links):
Using a rotary blade
Safety first, guys!
- Always cut with your dominant hand and always cut away from yourself. When I was a beginner quilter, I always cut towards myself! I don't know why that felt more natural to me, but I worked hard to break the habit. Cutting toward yourself can be dangerous.
- It is recommended that you change your rotary blade with each new project, and I think this is sound advice. A dull blade is dangerous, because it requires you to use extra pressure, increasing the chance that it will skip over the edge of your quilting ruler and cut you.
- Don't forget to switch the safety lock on when you set the rotary cutter down and when you're finished using it for the day. Every rotary cutter I've ever used has some kind of mechanism for covering the blade when not in use. Pro tip: never, ever, leave these in sight of your preschooler, or any young child. They sure do look like fun toys to those little ones- ask me how I know!
Quilting Rulers
Get familiar with the markings on your ruler; often, one side has whole inch markings while the opposite side has half inch markings. It's easy to get into the rhythm of cutting and realize that you're cutting half an inch bigger or smaller than you intended to cut. I would suggest using the same brand of rulers for all of your quilting rulers if possible. I personally own a hodgepodge of ruler brands, because I started purchasing before I knew better. It's recommended to stay consistent across brands, because you will be able to familiarize yourself with the markings more easily, and each brand could actually measure slightly differently, resulting in inaccurate piecing- especially if you're working with small pieces.
Tips For Accurate Cutting
1. Use a small ruler for cutting small pieces, and use a long ruler for cutting yardage or strips. Here are the two rulers that I use daily and would recommend that you start with: 6" x 24" and 3" x 8". Click the photos to shop; these are affiliate links.
2. Use the lines on your ruler, not your mat, to measure and cut: I am pretty bad about this one; I'll admit that I use the lines on my cutting mat to help with measuring and cutting. However, the reason why it's suggested to use the ruler marks for measuring and cutting is because the lines on your mat can become distorted and inaccurate over time with use. See the video below for an example of how to measure correctly:
3. If you have trouble seeing the ruler lines, or if you are making the same cuts over and over again, use tape to mark your ruler. This way, you can eye the cuts you're making rather than measuring exactly each time. you can use this special tape made especially for quilting rulers, or you can use washi tape. Click the image below to shop the glow-line tape that I use (this is an affiliate link).
View the reel below to see this tape in action:
4. Use a sharp rotary blade. It is recommended to change your blade between projects, and I'm religious about this. It has decreased my frustration and increased my cutting accuracy. A dull blade not only skips over parts of the fabric, but it can also damage your cutting mat and cause dangerous accidents.
5. Invest in specialty rulers as you take on more projects. Certain quilting rulers are made especially for cutting strips, squaring blocks, or trimming specific blocks. The stripology ruler is one of my favorites. It's made by Creative Grids, and allows you to cut large quantities of strips, squares, and rectangles accurately. Here are some examples of specialty quilting rulers for use with rotary cutters:
Creative Grids Stripology Ruler
Square up ruler for squaring quilt blocks
Slotted Trimmer for trimming Half Square Triangles (HSTs)
Flying Geese Ruler
I hope this helps you decide which supplies to start quilting with! As always, let me know if you have any questions. You can find me on Instagram @ritualquiltcompany, or feel free to email me: Amy @ritualquiltcompany.com
A note about affiliate links: If you purchase a product through one of my affiliate links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Keep Creating!
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