Here we go!!! It’s time to cut into all that delicious fabric! But first, let’s organize it because there are 26 different prints to work with.
I received Alpha Bitties in my Sew Sampler box a while back so I brought those out along with clips to attach them with. I labelled each fabric piece and then grouped them according to cutting directions.
I love how organized this looks.
Ready to go? I am. I used my trusty 6×24 cutting ruler. I also have a 6 1/2 inch square that gets used quite a bit and some larger squares that get used from time to time. For this project I did use my 20 inch square as well.
I began with all the rotary cuttings. As each fabric was completed, I clipped the alpha bittie label back on the cut pieces and then put all leftovers in my new Tula Pink scrap bag. Something wonderful will happen with all those leftovers I am sure.
When that was all done, I pulled out my templates I made last week to trace and cut. The first thing I discovered was how slippery those templates are. I grabbed some masking tape and placed it on the wrong side of the template. Not as great as some no-slip tape, but a world better than what I had going on before.
Remember the arrows we traced on the templates? Those are to show you the direction to place the template in. It says to go with the grain. The grain of the fabric runs parallel to the selvage end.
When I was tracing templates 1 and 4 to fabric Y, which is the solid charteuse, I made sure to make a small x in a corner to mark the wrong side BEFORE I cut it.
I’ve also already marked the seam allowances on all fabric I cut from templates 2 and 3.
I do suggest placing the templates over each piece after you have cut them to make sure you don’t have any fabric over the cutting line. Remember those 1/16 inch overages soon add up to 1/4 inch and then can really start throwing everything off.
Here’s everything all cut up and ready to be sewn.
Another suggestion I have is regarding fabrics Y and Z which have a large edge of bias on them. If you have somewhere to store them flat, do so. You don’t want to have to iron them before you stitch them to the other pieces. Ironing bias edges can make the piece distorted if you are not extremely careful. In fact, if you haven’t cut template 4 or the setting triangles yet, don’t. Just wait until you need them and then cut them out. The other templates have bias edges to them too, but not as long as the other ones.
The last thing I did was group the fabrics together for sewing. I am now all ready to start sewing!
I will be working on group 1, steps 2-6 for next week. See you then!
Lovingly,
Lissa