The Tessa QAL - Cutting (Part 2)
Once you have strip pieced your fabric, it is now time to cut the individual pieces for your quilt. The good news is that there is not much cutting that needs to happen - yay!
Supplies
The only thing that I would recommend for this part of the pattern is ruler that is at least 16.5" wide (something like this). If you do not have one, you can push rulers together (for example, a 6" ruler + a 12" ruler will be big enough) or you can use your cutting mat (though this will be less accurate). Since my long ruler is 8.5" x 24.5", I use this ruler and turn it sideways. There are lots of ways to make this work!
Tips
Here are a few tips to help guide you as you cut:- There is a separate table for each quilt size - make sure you are cutting from the correct table!
- Always make sure the edge of your fabric stays squared up as you cut (I talk about this a little more in the video in case you aren't sure what I'm talking about). You may need to square up the edge more than once.
- If you have a fabric where you are worried about the seam being noticeable, cut the fabric pieces in the order they will appear in the quilt. Normally, I would cut all of the largest pieces first, then cut the smaller pieces, etc. But the seam will be less noticeable if you cut the pieces in order (see image below). If you are using solids or fabrics where the same won't be noticeable anyway, don't worry about this.
- It is very easy to make a cutting mistake in this section and you may or may not have enough fabric for mistakes - double or triple check before cutting.
Video
I have done my best to walk you through the cutting process here. If you do not understand this step in the process, please leave a comment here, send me an email, or ask me during our video chat on Thursday.
Next Week
For the next two weeks we will be piecing the quilt top. If you would like to move faster, go for it! This quilt top comes together pretty quickly, but I wanted to give everyone plenty of time to finish it up (especially if you are making the twin size).
If you already have questions about piecing, ask them in the comments and I will address them in Monday's post.