How to cut fabric straight, square and on grain. 

Wow. Thank you so much Kerry!

Definitely I loved this video as well

Thank you for commenting Mary! I learned from my mom.

This is how I learned in my sewing class in high school, as well! 🤗

I've learnt this from my mum❤️

Yay! that's awesome Eszter! It's so nice you have time to sew now! I just started doing workshops ...sign up for my email list and I'll send you the info. when I have them... mailchi.mp/913c3e1b4a4b/stay-updated-on-workshops-and-courses

Love that!

so glad this was helpful! overtime I'm in a hurry and don't pull a thread I regret it. Thank you for commenting!

yw. Oh I've been sewing now professionally for a number of years and I still have so much to learn. It's a lifetime process and so much fun!!!

Thank you Dianne.

Yes absolutely! I thought I touched on that briefly. Idk 😏 anyway, thanks for commenting!

sosusan8 very true about poorly printed fabric! And yes, with finely woven fabric ripping is effective.

I have some fabric that will NOT rip. I found it so odd.

Thank you so much! I appreciate you taking the time to comment!

Thank you!

you're welcome!

you're so welcome! thanks for the nice comment...and saying it's not boring...I have a very serious personality and bore myself at times. ;)

Thank you so much Bianca!

Gayla Burger you’re so welcome! It’s such an important step but it’s usually ignored and then home projects end up slightly “off” and you don’t know why. Thanks for commenting!

Thanks Dolores! Thanks for commenting!

That’s a very good question. You’d have to have a very discerning eye to tell. It would be next to impossible on a solid fabric. If it’s a print, the print almost always run up the warp. But as long as your first cut is square to either the warp OR the weft, it doesn’t really matter.

perfect! Thank you for commenting!!!

oh good! so glad this helps.

Thank you so much Elena! I bought my frames from glassesusa.com. Pretty sure.

Thank you for taking the time to comment Dee!

Sometimes canvas is difficult to pull a string since it’s such a tight weave. You might have some breakage , just pull the string next to it

you're welcome. Thank you for commenting.

awe! Thank you! and thanks for commenting.

You’re welcome. Thanks for commenting!

You're welcome! Thank you commenting. When i made this video I had no idea so many would watch it!

I think it fine on really tightly woven fabric like duck...I just don't like how it kinda stretches the fabric next to the rip. I'll do that if I know that end will eventually be cut off , like when making slipcovers.

Yes, when I tried to do it recently I couldn't pull a thread, kept breaking and breaking and just wouldn't budge. So I had to rip. I does seem to stretch it though. Whadd'ya gonna do? Lol.

you're welcome. thank you for commenting.

Ha! I’ve been there.

an heat safe straight edge is a great way to make hems. But I think it just takes practice. I do some very simple woodworking and it's surprising how many things are similar with woodworking and sewing as far as order of operations and such.

@@MimzyandCompanythank you for replying! I just did this trick on the pieces I've already cut out for a basic couch pillow project. I was WAY off the grain! Luckily, I transferred a woodworker's trick and cut my largest pieces first. I can always cut them smaller, but can't cut them bigger! :) Can't wait to watch more of your videos. Thanks!

@@karenschraven8237 well that was smart!

you're welcome.

hmm...I'm not familiar with triple weave fabric. Is it a very tight weave or loose?

Yw

Yep, it’s happened to me many times when I thought my cut “looked” straight. I would was and dry first, then pull a thread.

@@MimzyandCompany Wonderful! Thank you so much ❤️

You’re welcome!

you're welcome. Thank you for commenting.

huh...it's the lining fabric that's off? usually the lining is easy to get square since it's a pretty tight weave. weird.

@@MimzyandCompany yep, the lining. I'm at my wit's end. My husband and I have been scratching our heads trying to figure what's wrong.

@@ellenolson188 sometimes the grain just gets askew. Maybe try pulling the fabric from corner to corner(on the bias) to straighten out the threads. When you hold the fabric up the light does it look like the threads are askew? You could wash the fabric and sometimes that will "realign" things. That's annoying.

I have 16 yards of fabric. So can't wash it! But another fabric person has suggested that I have a twill fabric and that the thread pull can be less successful. So to just fold down along the length and cut across.

@@ellenolson188 good idea!

you're welcome!!!

Thanks Lorraine! I’m not often called funny so thanks for that!

no, it's not necessary to square each individual cut if you make sure your first cut, from selvage to selvage, is good and straight/square. The ripping method should work in theory, but it's not always precise, plus it tends to stretch the fabric at the ripped edge.

Lynette Patrice it depends on what you’re making or the pattern you are using. Sometimes you cut on the bias, 45 degree angle from the selvage edge. You cut on grain to keep things straight and very little stretch. You cut on bias to have much stretch in the fabric. Bias is mostly used when you want the fabric drape like cowl neck shirt or bias cut slip dress.

When I make pillows I always use this method to cut my fabric then line up my pillow template on the straight grain. If not the pillow will get crooked over time particularly if it gets a lot of use.

hmmm. no matter what start the first cut straight and square.

denim is tough because the threads are so soft and tightly woven. If you pull a thread about 6" into the fabric then you can use a T square to draw a line from there, making sure to square up to the selvage and the thread pull you started. good luck. What kind of stuff do you make with denim?

mimzy & company Thank you so much. I make bags with denim.

You are so welcome! Thanks for the comment

Yw! Thanks for the comment.

Not all fabrics cooperate with this method. That’s why a gridded cutting mat is very helpful. You can line up your selvage edges with the lines in the cutting mat to ensure a square cut. This is not always perfect either.

Blackout fabric doesn't work for this method. You could use this method on the face fabric and then follow that line on your blackout fabric. OR use a Tsquare or and Lsquare on the blackout.

@@MimzyandCompany Thank you so much for your kind reply

Thank you! so are you!

if the fabric is a tight weave it can break fairly easily... it's hard to avoid it sometimes. if you can't pull one thread from selvage to selvage then after the thread breaks pull the thread next to the broken thread.

Yes stretching on the bias and pulling it on the warp. Also washing fabric will sometimes help reset the grain.

@@MimzyandCompany thank you!!!

This is only the first step to any sewing project so that you are sure that you're cutting with the grain and not accidentally on the bias. When you are patterning you often fold the fabric in half selvage to selvage, if your end cut is not square then you could potentially match the selvages out of square.(that is if you don't notice that the fold is creasing/puckering, which will tell you that the fabric is unsquare). If you're only cutting your pattern out of one layer of fabric then you can just make sure your patterns are parallel to the selvage and all is well. Does that answer your question?

Thank you Mike!

It should work for a bed sheet if it's cotton, but some tightly woven blends may not work...the string will break. Try it and see.

right!

washing can reset the grain. and you can manual manipulate the fabric by pulling it on the bias to kinda straighten it out a bit.

The more you sew the more you'll intimately realize what on-grain means. Even as I pinned the slipcover of my recent bench slip I could see the grain(weave of the threads) on the corners that I pulled too tight and caused it to be off square. It's all the tiny nuances you learn as you put in time sewing. It's fun. Anyhow, thanks for commenting!

If I’m getting this correctly May, I think it means making sure that the first cut goes perfectly along a weft thread and isn’t at an angle across several threads. Think if you draw say 5 vertical lines inside a square on a piece of paper and you want to make sure those lines stay straight… you would cut level along one of the lines wouldn’t you because if you cut at an angle across a couple of those lines, it won’t be straight anymore. That’s the way I understand it anyway. I’ve done a little weaving in the past so I can grasp the idea of cutting along one strand of the weft if that’s what this means?

You would be trying to cut on the weft thread line. AKA Crosswise grain of the fabric, hope this helps 😊

for masks it won't make much difference because if the fabric stretches any which way it won't matter a whole lot. just cut it however you want the flower pattern to be placed on the mask.

@@MimzyandCompany Thanks!

The warp is the lengthwise grain and weft is the crosswise(selvage you selvage grain). The stretchiest is bias(diagonal) to the warp and weft. However the weft is usually a little stretchy while the warp generally has zero stretch.

mimzy & company Thank you!!

nope, wont work. I'd fold the blackout in half and just make sure there's not creases on the fold then you know it's square. Then cut using a T-square.

A fat quarter SHOULD be square already.

@@MimzyandCompany Maybe it they would be if I afforded 'Moda' or other high end cotton fabric but I pick mime up at Hobby Lobby or Joanns....my budget. Thank you

You're welcome. Thank you for commenting.

yes

No , blackout lining is a synthetic material and likely won’t work . HOWEVER, I’ve never tried pulling a string on blackout lining so maybe give it a try.

Yes, that still works. Some fabrics are just looser weave or thinner threads so it gets trapezoidal when ripped. If pulling the thread doesn't work then I would fold it in half, make sure your fold line is flat(no creasing on the fold), line up the selvage edges on a straight edge(cutting mat or table) and cut the end square from there.

@@MimzyandCompany thank you so much for this! You’ve helped me so much with this comment! 🙏🏽 if you don’t mind me asking, by “no creasing on the fold” does that mean the fold has to be flat as if it were ironed instead of just folding it and then leaving the fold how it typically is like a bit open (if that makes sense)?

Cleo A if it’s woven it’ll always be perpendicular to start, but can easily get askew. Sometimes washing will straighten it out.

🤣🤣

Toasted 5:12 in, my loom is tilled.

huh... I love ikat prints... i bet your sarongs are beautiful.

@@MimzyandCompany yes they are beautiful i LOVE my ikat cotton Balinese woven Sarongs i've loved sarongs ever since i was 16yo now 55yo i still love my sarongs i still have many of the ikat sarongs i bought when i was 16 still have them to this day along with many newer ikat sarongs i also have the fringe sarongs and the traditional wax batik from java i fell in love with sarongs and bali ikat when i was young its the woven cotton ikat from bali i love the most but i do love my other sarongs as well🙂💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💓💓💓 the older ikats i have not worn as much over the years in an attempt to make my much loved sarong collection last as many years as possible ..❤thanks love Scott from Australia... ty

@@scottharvey3848 that’s so fun ! Do you display them as pieces of art? Or wear them ? Or both?

@@MimzyandCompany i wear my Sarongs as a long skirt my ikat is floor length which i love on me as i am only 5ft 8 its very soft cotton to wear i LOVE it they are very comfortable on me love to wear them both at home and in public as well sometimes i'll use them as a table cloth on my living room table but for the most part i only wear my sarongs ...all my sarongs are long on me .🙂💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

@@MimzyandCompany hello its Scott harvey here again from Australia i hope you dont mind i decided to follow you on your instagram account i'm on there as well i'd love it if we could chat there more about my love of sarongs do you have any please lets chat ok love Scott harvey from Australia ikat sarong lover and wearer..🙂❤❤❤❤❤❤

can't be done....you'll have to use a square yardstick to square up you fabric.

Yes. This only works with woven fabrics. And if your fabric is really tightly woven it will be difficult because your thread will break easily. So you have to lay out your fabric against a square table or anything square to get your first cut.

No, don’t think so. You can’t pull a thread on knit fabric.

Yes. Absolutely right! I find printed fabric is more often than not, printed off grain.

Thanks Joyce

sosusan8 yes. I agree. But that’s a whole other can of worms ...poorly printed fabric. I’ll have to do a separate video covering printed fabric. In my home decor projects it’s still generally better to follow the pattern when making drapes or a duvet cover than the grain.

I certainly understand your rationale with respect to drapery and home décor.

Bahama Mama simply in a hurry to get vid done.

Dinah Rodriguez you’re welcome Dinah. Thanks for commenting.

Cricket Cricket you’re welcome, thank you for commenting.