Short Follow up to last blog: Rotary Cutter and Cutting Base Rotary Mats. Do I need one?
I received many messages after publishing my last blog post: Rotary Cutter and Cutting Base Rotary Mats. Do I need one? The gist asking me to give the rotary cutter another go. So I did. I thought about it for a bit first then decided to compare the cutting task I use most, namely preparing solid colour fabric for using with hexagon paper templates.
1) The traditional method using scissors:
Work on ironing board. Place a paper template on fabric. Check for more than 5mm seam, snip then rip the fabric into a strip. Iron fabric then concertina over. Place template to check for seam allowance then cut using scissors. Trim any frayed edges if you like a neat look. Time it takes to make 12 fabric pieces. Took me 2 mins and 20 seconds.
2) Using a rotary cutter, metal ruler, and cutting mat.
Iron fabric then fold over four times, place ruler onto guide line. Trim edge of fabric with rotary cutter. Place template onto fabric, check for 5mm or more seam allowance then using mat guidelines cut using rotary cutter. Rotate fabric and cut into 12 fabric pieces. Took me 3 mins and 40 seconds.
Pictures show same result. The extra time it took using the rotary cutter was mainly taken up in ironing more fabric than I needed. I realise I have the rotary cutter the wrong way around in the above image, was taking a photo at the time!
The rotary cutter is useful and has advantages for many patchwork and quilting tasks. So I guess its all down to personal preference. For me using scissors and the sound of ripping fabric is a joy.
