Please explain squaring up!

[beka1977]

How do you square up fabric? Wash it and then line up the selvages? Then cut off the whopperjawed areas on the sides? What if it is something like a fat quarter and there aren't selvages? Am I supposed to be tugging and pulling, or just smoothing and aligning???

Help!

[Kari_mom]

Even with a fat quarter, there should be a selvage edge. If you have a cutting mat marked with a grid, lay the selvage along a line and smooth the rest of the fabric out so it isn't wonky. The threads that make up the cloth should be a right angles to each other. If the rectangle is an obvious trapezoid and doesn't lie flat, then it is time to tug on the corners of the short diagonal.

I prewash everything, but if you have a fat quarter be aware that you will lose a good bit to raveling by washing it. Putting the fat quarter in a lingerie bag will help.

[KariM]

I was taught to pull threads in order to square the fabric. Our home ec teacher had us grab a thread and pull it and then cut along that thread. Then we'd do the same on the other edge.

That left you with a piece of fabric that is completely "square" with the grain. Obviously we did this with woven fabrics.

[lightheart]

if your squaring for quilting then read on, if you are squaring for garmet sewing, I have no idea but may relate????

what you are trying to do is get the weave of the fabric cut square to the end of the piece of material, so yes you line up the selvegages and cut across it... but remember to look at the pattern printed on the fabric too, aometimes it's not quite square with the fabric itself and if you are using plaids or lines, then it would look akward to me cut square in relation to weave, sometimes you give up the grain to get the pattern.

if you have selvegaes, you can line them up but be sure to also look at the individual threads and use the thread to cut on, that's what you will do with the fat 1/4's.

if you are rotary cutting a bunch of strips, you may cut a few or a lot then resquare the fabric because you may get off line slightly and it all adds up.

you are not 'blocking' the fabric like I think in knitting and crocheting, making the fabric becaome the shape you want, sometmes you will have to tug and prod a little but only slightly.

[beka1977]

Thanks!!!