Rotary Cutting continued

Along with a rotary cutter you are going to want to invest in a "self-healing" rotary mat and a ruler made to be used with Rotary Cutters.

@ Self-Healing Mats - were created to be used with rotary cutters. The problem was rotary cutters cut fabric fabulously, but it also cut what other surface was underneath the fabric. Say you didn't want to mar your counter top, or wood table so you placed a piece of say cardboard under the fabric. The cutter went right through that also and probably pushed the fabric down into the slices it was creating. SO, a cutting surface was created that would allow the fabric to be cut without destroying the cutting surface itself. The surface of the mat is called self healing, because it's made out of a special rubberized surface that can recover from the cutting and be used over and over.

@ Rotary Rulers - When rotary cutters first came on the market, quilters/sewers were using metal type architectural rulers with them. Imagine less than and 1/8" edge to guide the rotary blade down the ruler!!! It's amazing that so many quilters from that era still have their finger intact! Now we have so many awesome rulers to choose from. They are about a 1/4" thick and create a nice straight edge to guide the rotary blade. I love that they are see-through and marked in 1/4" increments. There are many different brands of rotary rulers. Check around, lay them on light and dark surfaces to see how easy/hard it is to see the measurements marked on them. We have the tendency to walk in and buy the first one we see, the one on sale etc. . . But then you begin using it and find out that it's hard to see the marks on dark fabric, or you really wish it marked the 1/8" increments and it doesn't. BASICALLY - test drive a few models to find out which will work best. Start with one ruler and use it a several times before you add to your collection of rulers.

@ Rotary Cutters - Like the Rotary Rulers, there are many different brands and styles. Check out how the blade guard works. How does it fit in your hand? Will you be doing multiple layers of fabrics? or will you cut curves and need a smaller more manueverable blade? Again buy one, and test it out before you buy other sizes etc . . . You will probably end up with more than one if you really get hooked on quilting.

Safety First!

A rotary cutter is basically a razor sharp round blade placed on a handle, much like a pizza cutter. However, it is immensely sharper than a pizza cutter!! I can't stress too much how careful you should be when handling and working with this instrument. Whenever it is not in use the blade guard should be closed. If you have small children in your home, please be sure to put your rotary cutters up and away. One quilter told me a story of how she turned her back for a second and her toddler had unscrewed the assembly of her rotary cutter and was holding the blade in their hand!!! Another quilter, piled all her quilting supplies on her mat and was carrying them to the other room, and the rotary cutter slipped off the mat and hit her on the top of her foot. The impact pushed the blade guard back and the blade sliced her foot. The result was a trip to the ER! Thankfully it barely missed major tendons. I myself have gotten distracted while cutting and sliced into my finger. OUCH!!

BASICALLY! Be very careful with this VERY sharp instrument. And always close your blade. Get in the habit of clicking the blade guard closed every time you lay the cutter down.

You can't really use a rotary cutter all by itself. You'll also need a self-healing mat and a ruler made to use with a rotary cutter. I'll discuss these tools in an upcoming post.

Rotary Cutting

So I had this great post all written about Rotary cutters and don't ya know it disappeared!! CRAZY! Well, here goes again!

The rotary cutter was a revolutionary invention by Yoshio Okada. Mr. Okada already had a sucessful business in cutting tools, but in 1979 he began producing the Rotary Cutter. Mr Okada was watching a television program where someone was trying to cut out a fine fabric with regular scissors and was having difficulty cutting a nice straight even line. Mr. Okada knew he could come up with something better. After 9 months of work, the rotary cutter was introduced as a fabric cutting implement. Not necessarily for the quilting market, but it was quickly recognized as something that could help in the cutting of many pieces of fabric quickly.

I don't think I would be a quilter with out this invention. I'm pretty sure I don't have the patience it takes to cut out all the pieces for a large quilt by hand with a pair of scissors!

From 2008-11

Now rotary cutters come in a variety of sizes, shapes, makes, and colors. I will have a post soon about how to use a rotary cutter safely.

BASICALLY! The rotary cutter revolutionized the way we make quilts, and how many we can make in a year!