Treating Fabric

So, I've been cutting fabric this afternoon.

Harriet recommends a specific way to cut fabric which is perhaps a bit different from the way that most people cut fabric.

You'll need to know first a little of my history.

I have TONS of fabric.  I know, I know, most of us do.

MOST of my fabric is in fat quarters.  I would say that 90% of my fabric is fat quarters.

Harriet recommends tearing your fabric, starching it, and realigning it before you cut it. She's not a prewasher (YEAH!!!!!!).

Her method of cutting is a little different than I'm used to (you can read all about it in her book Heirloom Machine Quilting on pages 15-17), so I did some experimenting this afternoon and figured out what was going to work for me.

I'm still not sure what's going to work for all those fat quarters that I have, though.  I don't know if I should pre-wash them so that they will relax into straight grain and then starch them to make them stiff again.  (Harriet recommends working with stiff fabric when you piece.)  I haven't decided for sure, and I sent an email to Harriet and Carrie to find out if they had a suggestion.

So, back to my QA project...I got some 2" WOF (width of fabric) strips cut in WOW (white on white) and light blue and dark blue.  I probably wouldn't have chosen these two blues to put together in a quilt, but they were the only longer pieces of blue fabric that I had on hand.

So, now I'll go to work on getting a perfect seam.

I have to admit that I've been a little resistant in the past to use a thread guide on the machine, but I think I'm just going to have to let it go.  Actually, I'm not so sure that I can because I would have to take it off every time that I practiced FMQ (free motion quilting), so that wouldn't work.

So, I'm going to have to find a way to get a ¼" seam without using something on the bed of the machine.

For my Bernina, Harriet recommends the #13 foot with a thread guide on it.  I'm not sure if I have a #13 foot, I'm off to check!