QuiltnLady1

Good luck!! I have been burned with kits as well -- my LQS made a fabric company replace bolts of fabric because they were off (she found out that they had shipped her a lesser quality because she was new and it was her first order and they did not think she would notice!)

I join the chorus -- with what you are doing there is no need to worry about cutting the stars straight. HOWEVER, since you are cutting triangles, I would still starch (or best press) to hold the shape.

brosier

In one of the first quilt classes I took, the instructor took the uncut fabric by one corner, had another person take the fabric by the opposite corner at the other end of the fabric and then they proceeded to pull and tug on the fabric by the opposite corners. They would then move their hands to get a different grip but at the same 45 degree angle and pulled on the fabric.
Magically, the fabric was then straightened. You might try this to see if you can straighten the fabric a bit - then the print might look better.

lynndianne

Could she contact the seller of the product and complain? They should be required to send her new fabric. Just a thought.

Lynn

Ceil

I had a similar issue when I had to use a small print with an obvious pattern as a border. I sent and email to the shop from which I bought the kit and the woman sent me extra fabric! I first emailed the company who made the fabric to tell them that they hadn't printed it straight (hey, they knew this) but they were less than helpful and told me that the person who had designed the pattern and listed the yardage had made the quilt with the fabric so had taken that into account without admitting that their pattern was "off". (no, they did not take it into account)
It looks like you should be fine. Can't wait to see the finish!

Suzy

That has happened to me too. I had to find different fabric to finish my project because there was no way to make it straight of grain, and it really would show in the design. I was doing a 4th of July table runner and the flags that were going to go into the center blocks were so bad couldn't use them.. Thank goodness for an embroidery machine and fabric that blended so I could embroider something patriotic in the center blocks.

Good Luck

Suzy

Stitchit123

if you haven't cut it -take it back

Debbie C

Can you contact the company and see if you can get more fabric or perhaps similar that is printed correctly? That would make me madder than, well, you know! :hunf:

Mo_Chride

Actually, I kind of prefer the stars cut up the way you show in the last picture rather than all exactly the same.

The pulling on the fabric to straighten the grain is the method I was taught back in Home Ec to straighten grain for clothing (back in the late '80s if it makes a difference). I was taught to straighten grain for quilting by lining up salvages and shift until there is no wrinkles and then trim.

For a striped fabric, if I wanted the lines straight then I might try the pulling method and see what happens but I would think that the print wouldn't shift really and would just do what I think of as a more "fussy" cut and just sew carefully to avoid stretching the bias.

I will also admit that I don't know what I would do if I had purchased a kit and there wasn't enough fabric to do the fussy cut I needed to keep me happy. Likely purchase another fabric, and enough of it, to replace the fabric that I didn't end up happy with and just stash the replaced kit fabric for another project along the line.

Tara

dunster

I'm sorry you're running into this problem, but it's actually quite common for fabric to be printed off-square and off-grain. It even happens with panels containing pictures that "should" be square. In the case of your stars, though, I think the result will be fantastic. They will actually look better being off-kilter. Be sure to post when you're done.

patmas57

I bought two kits when I first started considering quilting, and then didn't get to them for over a year. That fabric is pretty much long gone except for a few bits and pieces on eBay (I searched out of curiosity). The first kit I tried had a center panel that was supposed to be cut to 14-1/2 inches. The panel was not only crooked, but barely 14 inches! After huffing and puffing to myself to get out my annoyance, I did some math and decided to trim it to 13 inches all around, and then add the extra I needed from scraps left over from cutting the other pieces. I managed to "frame" the panel with an inch of coordinating fabric, and my daughter claims she actually likes it better that way. I know I was lucky, but after reading about others getting burned by kits, I doubt that I'll buy one again! :?