Busy Blocks: Beginner Cutting Tips

Soooo who thought sewing would be easier than cutting? *raises hand and looks around* Just me? Well, that figures. I find myself almost sweaty-nervous (sorry for the overshare) every time I even think about the next time I have to break out my rotary cutter. My hesitation stems from the idea that cutting is first step that has the potential to really screw you up. Yes, fabric selection is crazy-important, but that doesn't affect the more technical parts of quilting like matching seams and not "cutting off" (with a sewing machine) the points of every half-square triangle block (try as I might).

Sensing my nerves, Kathy assured me that this quilt and all of my future ones can "absorb a million small different errors." Taking her far too literally, I felt a sense of panic wash over me—if I'm freaking out about this one issue, how many millions am I ignoring?! I snapped back to reality when Kathy told me to focus on what'll absolutely drive me crazy. (Who guessed "Everything" was my reply? You know me too well.) Focus, she told me, on "perfecting" those things and take a proverbial chill pill instead of worrying about every detail. As long as the same error isn't made over and over and over again, the quilt will look perfectly fine. Here are a few other top tips from Kathy on cutting:

• "Having the top of the ruler move a little each time a strip is cut is a really common error that has to be protected against. That's one big reason I love the anti-skid circles on Creative Grids' rulers, but it can still happen if you're not careful."
• "Lots of beginners get overwhelmed when they have a large chunk of fabric. Just concentrate on what fits on the mat and then readjust when you've cut to end of the mat."
• "Keep cutting, cutting, cutting! It WILL get easier and easier. Beginners are normally afraid to cut, but, with practice, I promise it will get easier."
• "Strips are always cut on the width of fabric unless you're instructed to cut lengthwise. Patterns always make a big deal out of cutting lengthwise, so don't be scared of missing this step. Double check yourself early on by making sure the strips have selvage at the top and the bottom."

For Busy Blocks, cutting wise, I had it pretty easy (Kathy's words, not mine). After she altered the instructions a bit to include the half-square/quarter-square triangle ruler, she gave me a rundown on understanding the cutting instructions. All but a few pattern designers base their cutting charts on fabric being 40 inches wide (enough though high-quality, 100% cotton quilting fabric is typically 44/45 inches) to account for wiggle room. With that in mind, she gave me a quick rundown on squares. If, for example, a pattern wants us to cut two 5-inch strips (with the intent of squares being cut from said strips), you can get eight squares (40-inch wide fabric ÷ 5-inch squares) out of each strip for a total of sixteen squares (eight 5-inch squares × two strips). Yeesh, that's a lot of numbers. As a visual learner, I think this explains it a bit more clearly:

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After my lesson, I got to work. Over the course of two days, I managed to cut out all of my squares and develop a major backache. (No one warned me about quilting requiring stretching!) Now, even though I forgot to photograph this joyous occasion, I did, at least, think to snap a photo when I was halfway done.

The squares are destined to be the outside of the hexagons and the long bits of folded fabric will be the block centers.

Next up is tackling half-square triangles! Since I also record and edit all of The QP's YouTube videos, I have a general idea how to use the HST ruler. If you need a refresher—I know I will after my next class—watch our tutorial on making half-square triangles both the traditional way and with a handy ruler.

Busy Blocks: Choosing Fabric

Choosing a pattern for my first project wasn't the easiest task. Along with a couple simple quilt patterns (like the classic beginner's quilt Rail Fence), Kathy ordered the book Modern Baby for me to peruse. Of the fourteen patterns, I fell in love with, umm, most all of 'em. Designed by a bunch of different pattern designers and bloggers, the quilts are all pretty modern, fresh takes on classic quilt blocks. What really got me was that all of the quilts are small so it's not "too much" for my first project. I mean, I can't imagine I'm going to have "quilter's regret" or "quilting fatigue" on my first go-round, but why chance it, right?

I'm lovin' the whimsy of the cover quilt, Bubbles, by Dana Bolyard.

Some of the quilts would be a little challenging for a newbie, but Kathy okayed one of my faves, the very first pattern in the book, Busy Blocks. Shea Henderson's simple (but sooo not boring) design caught my eye immediately, so I was giddy when it became a contender.

Photo Credit: Checker Distributors

Since it's nothing but squares and half-square triangles, I'll only have to worry about using two rulers—Kathy's go-to quilting ruler, Creative Grids USA's 6-1/2''-by-18-1/2'', and their quarter-square/half-square triangle ruler, Multi-Size 45 Degree/90 Degree Triangle Ruler.

Now, compared to choosing fabric, picking a pattern was cake. I meandered around The QP, pulling bolt after bolt until I had three or four different colorways piled chaotically on one of the cutting tables. One hour and one bored baby later, I had zip, zero, notta.

Eddie resorted to playing with a (well-attached!) stray thread on a dino-filled sample while I buzzed around the lower floor.

Having seen quilters in my predicament time and time again, Kathy suggested I pick out just one fabric. Starting in the purples (since I love me some eggplant), I pulled a violet dot by Robert Kaufman.  Along with the idea to have four main colors instead of two, a teal Michael Miller joined up and snowballed the rest of the color-picking process.

I ended up with cantaloupe orange, bright red, teal and violet as the primary colors (for the main parts of the "hexagons"). Choosing the fabric for the inner squares was easy and, to tell you the truth, a bit of a relief. The QP has over 7,000 bolts of fabric and it's a bit overwhelming (for a newbie, at least) to pick just 8 prints. I questioned my choices nearly the whole time with questions like What if this isn't the right shade of teal?, What if I change my mind after I cut it up?, What about turquoise?, and Is this teal-y enough?

The secondary fabrics that make up the inner blocks won't touch any of the other secondaries.

Kathy helped keep the (crazy) second-guessing voices at bay long enough for me to cut the yardage I need. By the time I was done rotary cutting and the fabric was neatly folded, I was (and still am!) loving my fabric choices . . . and only slightly rethinking the big red-and-white stripe.

When you pick fabric for a quilt, do you typically bring a friend for a moral support/a second opinion/a shoulder to cry on?