Video Transcript for: Jelly Roll Quilt in 32 Minutes with Qtools – Better than ever!
Hi. I’m Marci Baker and today I want to share with you today some tools I have developed that make my sewing and quilting much faster.
Tools for every quilting project.
They are called Qtools. I use Cutting Edge whenever I am cutting strips. Sewing Edge is used on the bed of my sewing machine and Corner Cut is used to decide where I place my Sewing Edge so that I get a very accurate quarter inch seam.
I’m going to use the Jelly Roll quilt as an example to compare. People have Jelly Roll quilting races because it’s popular to see how face they can sew 40 strips together that are 2 and 1/2 inch wide. I’m going to actually cut my strips so you can see how the Cutting Edge makes my cutting faster and then we will time the sewing using the Sewing Edge.
Using Cutting Edge for a perfect cut.
Here I’m going to show how I use the Cutting Edge on my rulers to mark my line, and not just mark it but create a stop. I’ve already got this on my ruler at 2 and 1/2 inches but let me show you how the strip, simply a piece of vinyl, applies to the back side with no adhesive. We are going to turn the ruler upside down and count one and a half because that is the measurement I am going to use on something else and I’ll put this on the line at one and a half and I just line it up at one point and then get it lined up down the line. Put some pressure, now its on there till I peel it off. It lasts forever, and again, no adhesive. Just store it on your rulers and that way you remember to use it. It is going to create a lip or a stop so that as I go to cut my fabric you can see and you will see as I do this demo that it catches the edge of my fabric. My ruler actually stop.
Cutting your Fabric, and Rotary Cutting Basics.
Here is my stack of fabric that I’m going to be working with. These were provided by Moda and it’s their ABC123 American Jane fabric. Let me show you how we’re going to cut our fabric and I’m going to give a lot of tips on some rotary cutting basics that I think will be helpful. First thing, I don’t wash my fabric and that’s a whole other lesson. But I may have creases in it whenever I’m cutting, that doesn’t bother me because I’m going to be placing the ruler on top of the fabric which helps me know that it’s going to be flat. I have the selvages running parallel to each other. They don’t have to be right on top and here the fold is already in there from when it came off of the bolt and that’s sufficient for me. Basically I’ve lined up length wise grain.
So I have a single fold, and now I am going to double-fold because I am using a smaller mat and I like to work with a short ruler because then the ruler won’t slip as I am making my cuts . We’re going to bring this fold not to the selvages, we are going to cover the selvages. I’m going to also demonstrate this to where we don’t have to turn our mat around in order to get the second cut. Also notice that my mat is upside down and I am using the bask side because I don’t use the lines. The lines can create extra busyness because I am only lining up the ruler and my fabric and so it takes less time.
From here on out the only thing that matters is that the folds are parallel to each other. We’re going to measure that and see it based on the rule. So the first step is to line up the ruler along this top fold and make sure I am running parallel to the bottom and that this side is a little bit longer than this side. Now, I am going to lift this fold and slide to the longer edge. What this does is pull this side down and this side up. I am off by about a sixteenth of an inch so it’s not going to be much that you’ll see, but I just lift it and shift and measure again and I’ll have it lined up parallel. Then I look to see where I am running…and we are parallel there so we’re ready to go as far as cut.
Now I am cutting 2 1/2″ strips. Turn this around and in order to not have to turn all of my fabric after I make my first cut, strip width plus the scrap. Usually you cut the scrap off first. We’re going to cut the strip width plus the scrap and I need about 1/2″ which is a little bit more than my orange. The orange is used as a guide that I’m going to cut enough of the scrap. So I have my 2.5″ plus scrap, I’m parallel here and parallel up here and I’m ready to make that cut. Now hold your hand just so it’s kind of like a spider rather than your palm down, this will help the ruler stay put and not slide. I also have my fingers off of the edge of the ruler quite often to prevent me from pushing the ruler and having it slide.
Next we’re going to take in and line up our arm with the cut and make the cut. I pull the fabric away so I know that I have made a good cut. This helps me make sure I don’t have a dull blade. Then we’re going to turn this small amount around and line up our cutting edge. It butts up against the fabric, then we line it up from here on out any strip I cut I need to look for a “C” shape. I tell my students that “C” is for cut. If I can look and line up a “c” meaning I line up right here, here, and here; then I can make this cut and know that it is straight. Parallel, parallel and lined up with my Cutting Edge. I know that I am going to get a straight strip. So this is my first strip and that’s the scrap. I need 3 strips out of this so we’ll line up our ruler again. It’s all lined up and I can make the cut, pull the fabric away and then I just slide this over, I don’t bother to pick that strip up, it’s not in my way and my Cutting Edge slides up against there and look for that C shape.