'Hypothetical' (blush) question

Happy Sunday all,

Just suppose (gulp!) someone bought a fat quarter instead of a 1/4 metre of
fabric, would she be OK cutting down the length instead of across the width?
She knows (halelluiah!) that there is a difference in the amount of 'give'
in a lengthwise cut, but in a state of blissful euphoria, didn't read the
label on the remnant correctly. This piece will be cut into 2" strips,
along with 4 other fabrics, as she has plans for a 'Triple Rail Fence'
quilt. Yes, I know, this will be a big jump up from cushion covers, but I'm
itching to have a go!! Should I just abandon that piece and force myself
(VBG) to go looking for another piece of fabric? Also, in this book named
'Quick Quilts' it says that using polycotton sheeting for the backing is OK.
Have any of you done this? Any suggestions gratefully received.
Lynn

Yes, you can mix lengthwise and widthwise cuts. The world will still turn.
Do try to control yourself and Press - as in up and down - iron instead of
scrubbing back and forth. The scrubbing motion will give you some
interesting and annoying curled strips. The lengthwise strips, especially
for long lengths such as sashings and borders behave much better.
As to polycotton sheets for backing, that's one of my favorites. I
dearly love to make a gift of a quilt with a sheet backing plus a set of
sheets that match. It is just a wonderful look. It does contribute to
nap-attack addicts. Almost impossible to walk by without climbing in, just
for a moment.
It is said that poly is very difficult to handquilt. I haven't tried it.
And there would likely be a difference in percent of shrinkage from the
quilt top. With some serious stalking, you can find sheets that are all
cotton that are luscious and affordable. Polly

Lynn Tocker wrote in message
...
Happy Sunday all,

Just suppose (gulp!) someone bought a fat quarter instead of a 1/4 metre
of
fabric, would she be OK cutting down the length instead of across the
width?
She knows (halelluiah!) that there is a difference in the amount of 'give'
in a lengthwise cut, but in a state of blissful euphoria, didn't read the
label on the remnant correctly. This piece will be cut into 2" strips,
along with 4 other fabrics, as she has plans for a 'Triple Rail Fence'
quilt. Yes, I know, this will be a big jump up from cushion covers, but
I'm
itching to have a go!! Should I just abandon that piece and force myself
(VBG) to go looking for another piece of fabric? Also, in this book
named
'Quick Quilts' it says that using polycotton sheeting for the backing is
OK.
Have any of you done this? Any suggestions gratefully received.
Lynn

Lynn:
First off, TANQP! (There are no quilt police!) Next, I'd like to
refer you to the books of Judy Martin, an outstanding designer
and quilt book author. Judy highly recommends cutting the long
way because length wise has less give. Get any of her books at
your county library and you will learn quite a bit, and be
inspired by her excellent use of colors. Personally I *try* to go
with less give but generally just cut however I can get the
required pieces out of the yardage I have on hand.
HTH. PAT in VA/USA

Lynn Tocker wrote:

Happy Sunday all,

Just suppose (gulp!) someone bought a fat quarter instead of a 1/4 metre of
fabric, would she be OK cutting down the length instead of across the width?

Just suppose (gulp!) someone bought a fat quarter instead of a 1/4 metre of
fabric

Nonono, Lynn--that's not how you word this type of question! The correct
introductory phrasing is "This happened to a friend of mine and I told her I
would ask you what to do." Do it like that and you'll never have to blush
again!

Nurse Ratched (remove "cuckoo" from address to reply)
We'll all get back to normal if we put our nation first,
But the trouble with "normal" is, it always gets worse. ~Bruce Cockburn

If you were doing borders, it would be more important to go with lengthwise
grain. But for piecing, it does not matter as much. Every piece you cut has
2 sides (well, squares and rectangles) on the crosswise grain anyway. If you
are doing strips, you can mitigate the "give" by sewing down one set of
strips, then turning and sewing from the opposite direction for the next
strip you add.

And shouldn't that read "I bought a FQ instead of 3 whole metres - terribly
sorry, won't happen again" ??

--
Wendy
http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm
de-fang email address to reply


"Lynn Tocker" wrote in message
...
Happy Sunday all,

Just suppose (gulp!) someone bought a fat quarter instead of a 1/4 metre
of
fabric, would she be OK cutting down the length instead of across the
width?
She knows (halelluiah!) that there is a difference in the amount of 'give'
in a lengthwise cut, but in a state of blissful euphoria, didn't read the
label on the remnant correctly. This piece will be cut into 2" strips,
along with 4 other fabrics, as she has plans for a 'Triple Rail Fence'
quilt. Yes, I know, this will be a big jump up from cushion covers, but
I'm
itching to have a go!! Should I just abandon that piece and force myself
(VBG) to go looking for another piece of fabric? Also, in this book
named
'Quick Quilts' it says that using polycotton sheeting for the backing is
OK.
Have any of you done this? Any suggestions gratefully received.
Lynn

UNLESS your LQS has buy 3 FQ's and get the 4th one free--they don't do
that for yards or metres. One of these days, I will get there on a
Friday when they HAVE that special : )
Seeing as how I have a card filled that says I get $20.00 my next
purchase---hmmmmmmmmmm--maybe Nov.
Butterfly


frood wrote:

If you were doing borders, it would be more important to go with lengthwise
grain. But for piecing, it does not matter as much. Every piece you cut has
2 sides (well, squares and rectangles) on the crosswise grain anyway. If you
are doing strips, you can mitigate the "give" by sewing down one set of
strips, then turning and sewing from the opposite direction for the next
strip you add.

And shouldn't that read "I bought a FQ instead of 3 whole metres - terribly
sorry, won't happen again" ??

You're absolutely right Wendy!! Must get into the quilting jargon, sounds
really impressively obscure.
I bought a metre of suit weight silk today for $3 at a fabric clearance shop
and a metre of wool for $2. Of course, I was only going to the supermarket
for cat food at the time, but but but... I think the virus has got me.
Lynn

"frood" wrote in message
om...
If you were doing borders, it would be more important to go with
lengthwise
grain. But for piecing, it does not matter as much. Every piece you cut
has
2 sides (well, squares and rectangles) on the crosswise grain anyway. If
you
are doing strips, you can mitigate the "give" by sewing down one set of
strips, then turning and sewing from the opposite direction for the next
strip you add.

And shouldn't that read "I bought a FQ instead of 3 whole metres -
terribly
sorry, won't happen again" ??

--
Wendy
http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm
de-fang email address to reply

Hi Butterfly,

I haven't seen anything like that around here, sounds good, so may happen
yet :-)
Lynn

"Butterfly" wrote in message
...
UNLESS your LQS has buy 3 FQ's and get the 4th one free--they don't do
that for yards or metres. One of these days, I will get there on a
Friday when they HAVE that special : )
Seeing as how I have a card filled that says I get $20.00 my next
purchase---hmmmmmmmmmm--maybe Nov.
Butterfly

Lynn, this is from reading, not from experience. Sheeting is not good for
quilting. You can test it yourself by feeling of the sheeting. Is it as
soft, as flexible as quilting cotton? Take a threaded (unknotted) needle to
the store with you and run it through two or three thicknesses of the
sheeting. Is this what you want to push a needle through for thousands of
stitches? I'm sure others with more experience can give better advice.

Nell in Austin

"Lynn Tocker" wrote in message
...
Happy Sunday all,

Just suppose (gulp!) someone bought a fat quarter instead of a 1/4 metre
of
fabric, would she be OK cutting down the length instead of across the
width?
She knows (halelluiah!) that there is a difference in the amount of 'give'
in a lengthwise cut, but in a state of blissful euphoria, didn't read the
label on the remnant correctly. This piece will be cut into 2" strips,
along with 4 other fabrics, as she has plans for a 'Triple Rail Fence'
quilt. Yes, I know, this will be a big jump up from cushion covers, but
I'm
itching to have a go!! Should I just abandon that piece and force myself
(VBG) to go looking for another piece of fabric? Also, in this book
named
'Quick Quilts' it says that using polycotton sheeting for the backing is
OK.
Have any of you done this? Any suggestions gratefully received.
Lynn