mjpEncinitas

I'm going to attempt an art quilt I've had in my head for a few years. It's going to involve cutting a lot of strips with pinking shears since the ends will be raw edged and I don't want them to ravel.

Has anyone used those special rotary cutters with the pinking blade? Do they work well? Do they keep the fabric from shredding at the ends?

mindless

I have 2 different pinking blades. One has the "normal" pinking one would expect, the other cuts a more curvy pinking design. Both took a bit of practice for me to get right. Now I really like them both. And yes, they do help keep fabric from fraying so much.
I would suggest that you start with an old ruler or straight edge....even a wooden yardstick .... and practice a few strokes using that before using a good ruler. You have to hold the blade vertical....don't let it lean over into your ruler.
Also...for me, cutting curves required a bit more of my attention.
Practice is good. Have fun.

mjpEncinitas

Thank you mindless. Your comment gave me a lot of information. I also looked at a few videos. Your comment helped me realize how important it is to practice on old rulers with these. I will invest now in the normal pinking blades, since your experience has confirmed the reduced fraying. I love my experienced friends on the quilting board. Keeps me from making mistakes.

quiltingshorttimer

also use an old mat cause you'll get some squiggley cuts in your mat.

SillySusan

I agree with using an old ruler. I chipped up one really badly before I figured out that you can keep the blade about 1/4" away from the ruler. Just be careful and take it slow. One of those safety gloves is a good idea also.

dluvs2quilt

When I used a pinking blade I noticed if you use two rulers taped together it worked better and the blade had a less tendency to run over the double ruler. And less expensive than buying another blade because if it did run over the single ruler the blade got dull really fast.

SusieQOH

I like the pinking blade a lot. I made chains for our Christmas tree from Shabby Fabrics tutorial on Youtube and they came out great using that tool. (like the paper chains we made as kids but out of fabric)

Snooze2978

I love my pinking blade. I use it on my apparel fabrics and any cotton type fabrics I don't want to fray on me. Always keep an extra blade around too though they're a little more expensive than our regular blades. I still have my pinking shears but haven't used them in years. The rotary blade type saves my hands and fingers.

tuckyquilter

All good advice/suggestions for all of us. I love it that we can ask a question and get more than one view of the subject. Learning good stuff all the time on this board.