Ripping vs Cutting fabric
08-06-2009, 10:27 PM
#51
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: East Hampstead, NH
Posts: 481
I wash my fabric, then rip it to get it on the straight of grain, iron, then I rotary cut from there because it is much easier to get straight lines and the fabric is not skewed. Sometimes I will rip off a piece a bit larger, say about 1/2 yard, selvedge to selvedge, then I can fold twice and rotary cut keeping the fabric straight and into smaller strips with little waste.
I always rip my borders along the length of the fabric and it's perfect every time.
I've had quality fabric that has been cut and skewed very badly so I would lose up to three inches on each side when fixing the grain. Ripping avoids this completely.
I haven't had my fabric ripped when I purchase it, it's always cut. Maybe I should be asking them to rip it!
Diane
I always rip my borders along the length of the fabric and it's perfect every time.
I've had quality fabric that has been cut and skewed very badly so I would lose up to three inches on each side when fixing the grain. Ripping avoids this completely.
I haven't had my fabric ripped when I purchase it, it's always cut. Maybe I should be asking them to rip it!
Diane
08-07-2009, 05:09 AM
#52
Super Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 6,764
Originally Posted by Eddie
I went to a LQS that I don't ordinarily go to today at lunch. I wanted to get some off-white background fabric for a quilt I'm contemplating, and the LQS I normally go to is closed on Mondays. This shop I went to today is more of a sewing / smocking kind of place, although maybe 1/6th of the store footprint is the quilting area. The lady at the quilting counter was helpful and showed me various fabrics to help me make a selection. I told her I wanted 2 yards so she measured it out and make a small cut in the selvedge. I figured she was marking where she was going to cut. She then picked up the fabric in both hands and RIIIPPPPED is from side to side. :shock: :shock: :shock: I know I probably visibly cringed when she did it.
It seems like fabric ripped like this would be likely to be skewed in the process? Yes? No? I've only been to like maybe a half dozen LQSs, but at all of them they simply rotary cut the material, or even at Wal-Mart they just use scissors. Do other places rip fabric before your very eyes like this?
It seems like fabric ripped like this would be likely to be skewed in the process? Yes? No? I've only been to like maybe a half dozen LQSs, but at all of them they simply rotary cut the material, or even at Wal-Mart they just use scissors. Do other places rip fabric before your very eyes like this?
When this happens, I usually lose a little bit by serging along the ripped edge. This will prevent the threads fronm getting tangled in the wash. If you desire to have the fabric on the true grain (if ypu want stripes straight, etc) you can pull it on the bias (opposite corners) and continue to do so until the ripped edge is straight. I bet that is as clear as Louisiana mud. :lol:
When cutting borders and bindings on the straight grain (following the selvege) I rip but allow a little extra that I can trim off to remove the threads. Then I know my pieces will be straight.
08-07-2009, 05:57 AM
#54
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
Posts: 2,605
During my time working in a quilt store we gave the customer the option of cut or rip. I do know that when the fabric is ripped, yes it does rip straight on a grain, but when you go home it seems like it is distorted and that there is the possibility of losing some fabric due to the fabric not being even.
I remember chatting with many fabric manufacturers at that time too when we were ordering fabrics. They told me that when the fabrics are wound up on the bolts, it is done with great speed that the grains are never straight and true. Therefore, if someone wishes to have their fabrics ripped, it is the better way to do it, but to keep in mind they may have to request an inch or two more than they need due to the distortion.
I find when fabrics are cut, they are off grain. When I need to get them back on grain I get a friend/mother, whomever is around to help me stretch the fabric til it is a better fit. This is what we do.
Take your fabric and fold it as though it were still on the bolt. Have one person stand at one end, and one at the other. Each person will hold the fabric so in one hand they have the folded edge of the 45" width and the other hand is holding the two selvages together. Make sure you are both standing away from each other to the length of the fabric. Carefully and gently each start with your right hand and give the fabric a little tug along the bias. Next do the same thing with your left hand only. Do this a couple times with each hand. By doing this you are helping the fabric get back on grain and will fold better when cutting. Sometimes the folded part of your fabric is so off grain it's difficult to keep it straight for cutting.
I hope this helps answer why some prefer ripping over cutting.
Cheers
I remember chatting with many fabric manufacturers at that time too when we were ordering fabrics. They told me that when the fabrics are wound up on the bolts, it is done with great speed that the grains are never straight and true. Therefore, if someone wishes to have their fabrics ripped, it is the better way to do it, but to keep in mind they may have to request an inch or two more than they need due to the distortion.
I find when fabrics are cut, they are off grain. When I need to get them back on grain I get a friend/mother, whomever is around to help me stretch the fabric til it is a better fit. This is what we do.
Take your fabric and fold it as though it were still on the bolt. Have one person stand at one end, and one at the other. Each person will hold the fabric so in one hand they have the folded edge of the 45" width and the other hand is holding the two selvages together. Make sure you are both standing away from each other to the length of the fabric. Carefully and gently each start with your right hand and give the fabric a little tug along the bias. Next do the same thing with your left hand only. Do this a couple times with each hand. By doing this you are helping the fabric get back on grain and will fold better when cutting. Sometimes the folded part of your fabric is so off grain it's difficult to keep it straight for cutting.
I hope this helps answer why some prefer ripping over cutting.
Cheers
08-07-2009, 01:28 PM
#55
Super Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 6,764
Originally Posted by Quilting Aggi
During my time working in a quilt store we gave the customer the option of cut or rip. I do know that when the fabric is ripped, yes it does rip straight on a grain, but when you go home it seems like it is distorted and that there is the possibility of losing some fabric due to the fabric not being even.
I remember chatting with many fabric manufacturers at that time too when we were ordering fabrics. They told me that when the fabrics are wound up on the bolts, it is done with great speed that the grains are never straight and true. Therefore, if someone wishes to have their fabrics ripped, it is the better way to do it, but to keep in mind they may have to request an inch or two more than they need due to the distortion.
I find when fabrics are cut, they are off grain. When I need to get them back on grain I get a friend/mother, whomever is around to help me stretch the fabric til it is a better fit. This is what we do.
Take your fabric and fold it as though it were still on the bolt. Have one person stand at one end, and one at the other. Each person will hold the fabric so in one hand they have the folded edge of the 45" width and the other hand is holding the two selvages together. Make sure you are both standing away from each other to the length of the fabric. Carefully and gently each start with your right hand and give the fabric a little tug along the bias. Next do the same thing with your left hand only. Do this a couple times with each hand. By doing this you are helping the fabric get back on grain and will fold better when cutting. Sometimes the folded part of your fabric is so off grain it's difficult to keep it straight for cutting.
I hope this helps answer why some prefer ripping over cutting.
Cheers
I remember chatting with many fabric manufacturers at that time too when we were ordering fabrics. They told me that when the fabrics are wound up on the bolts, it is done with great speed that the grains are never straight and true. Therefore, if someone wishes to have their fabrics ripped, it is the better way to do it, but to keep in mind they may have to request an inch or two more than they need due to the distortion.
I find when fabrics are cut, they are off grain. When I need to get them back on grain I get a friend/mother, whomever is around to help me stretch the fabric til it is a better fit. This is what we do.
Take your fabric and fold it as though it were still on the bolt. Have one person stand at one end, and one at the other. Each person will hold the fabric so in one hand they have the folded edge of the 45" width and the other hand is holding the two selvages together. Make sure you are both standing away from each other to the length of the fabric. Carefully and gently each start with your right hand and give the fabric a little tug along the bias. Next do the same thing with your left hand only. Do this a couple times with each hand. By doing this you are helping the fabric get back on grain and will fold better when cutting. Sometimes the folded part of your fabric is so off grain it's difficult to keep it straight for cutting.
I hope this helps answer why some prefer ripping over cutting.
Cheers
08-07-2009, 10:21 PM
#58
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: New England, USA
Posts: 2,964
Those of us that prefer ripping ( - oops tearing :lol: :lol: )are clearly in the minority.I agree with KeeBee.
But you do get a truer straight of the grain AND you do get the amount of fabric that you have paid for. I cannot tell you how many times I have purchased a patterned fabric that is not wound well on the bolt and did not have the complete pattern top and bottom of the piece.
Length wise is easiest to rip (for borders and the like) but when I go selvage to selvage - I snip the first selvage, rip to the other selvage then snip the last selvage. I feel that this results in less distortion of the edge.
Originally Posted by KayBee
. . .
Further, ripping always give a much truer length. Most places add an extra inch for the pulled threads. Try this. Rip across a piece of fabric on both ends; then measure what you have. Bet it's less than you paid for.
Further, ripping always give a much truer length. Most places add an extra inch for the pulled threads. Try this. Rip across a piece of fabric on both ends; then measure what you have. Bet it's less than you paid for.
Length wise is easiest to rip (for borders and the like) but when I go selvage to selvage - I snip the first selvage, rip to the other selvage then snip the last selvage. I feel that this results in less distortion of the edge.
08-09-2009, 03:44 PM
#59
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: currently central new jersey
Posts: 8,623
QUOTE: Actually, it rips ON THE GRAIN (the cross grain); but the grain isn't always heat set staight so when it is ripped it appears to be ascew.
When this happens, I usually lose a little bit by serging along the ripped edge. This will prevent the threads fronm getting tangled in the wash. If you desire to have the fabric on the true grain (if ypu want stripes straight, etc) you can pull it on the bias (opposite corners) and continue to do so until the ripped edge is straight. I bet that is as clear as Louisiana mud.
When cutting borders and bindings on the straight grain (following the selvege) I rip but allow a little extra that I can trim off to remove the threads. Then I know my pieces will be straight.
ME: imagine that your fabric is on an assembly line and the selvedges are hooked onto rails on either side of a belt. the belt, with the rails, is traveling through a something (oven? steamer?) that will heat set and size the fabric. imagine that one rail is moving a teeeny bit faster than the other. the lengthwise grain is not affected at all because it's not being pulled side to side. the cross weave, however, is affected greatly. it's being pulled, not off-grain, but unevenly. at a different rate of speed so that one edge is being set before the other. if you could see the weave under a magnifying glass, you would see that the cross-threads are no longer at right angles to each other. once they are heat set they are that way forever. forever. when the fabric is torn, ripped. whatever, it is being ripped on grain, but the grain is no longer straight. it's been heat set at the wrong angle. it has little or nothing to do with the quality of the fabric. it has to do with the quality of manufacture. unless the rails are moving very evenly, you can't get straight grain. straight grain means straight across. when you rip fabric, it will rip on grain, but not straight across. no amount of tugging, steaming, ironing, etc., will permanently re-set the fabrics. so if you cut, even though it's not on straight cross grain, whatever shape you cut, it will stay that shape due to the heat setting, which is why some people prefer cutting. it's very reliable.
to test your ripped fabric, lay your fabric on the floor. fold the way it is when you buy it. make sure the folded part has no wrinkles, and the edges are smack up against each other. if you look at the two ends, you will almost always see that one half of each end is longer than the other half. you have paid for the longer length, but can only use the shorter. if you are a 'washer', the problem is compounded, because the stiffening agent, which has helped keep the fabric even this even, has now dissolved. there is nothing to prevent the fabric from scewing even more.
waah? can anyone understand this? i almost don't myself.
when all of our fabrics were made in this country, this was a very unusual occurrence even in cheap fabrics. cheap meaning thin, poor thread quality or a loose weave. our fabric isn't made here anymore, and the quality has suffered. there are exceptions, but not many. if anyone has been lucky enough to rip and still have true cross grain, they are very lucky indeed.
When this happens, I usually lose a little bit by serging along the ripped edge. This will prevent the threads fronm getting tangled in the wash. If you desire to have the fabric on the true grain (if ypu want stripes straight, etc) you can pull it on the bias (opposite corners) and continue to do so until the ripped edge is straight. I bet that is as clear as Louisiana mud.
When cutting borders and bindings on the straight grain (following the selvege) I rip but allow a little extra that I can trim off to remove the threads. Then I know my pieces will be straight.
ME: imagine that your fabric is on an assembly line and the selvedges are hooked onto rails on either side of a belt. the belt, with the rails, is traveling through a something (oven? steamer?) that will heat set and size the fabric. imagine that one rail is moving a teeeny bit faster than the other. the lengthwise grain is not affected at all because it's not being pulled side to side. the cross weave, however, is affected greatly. it's being pulled, not off-grain, but unevenly. at a different rate of speed so that one edge is being set before the other. if you could see the weave under a magnifying glass, you would see that the cross-threads are no longer at right angles to each other. once they are heat set they are that way forever. forever. when the fabric is torn, ripped. whatever, it is being ripped on grain, but the grain is no longer straight. it's been heat set at the wrong angle. it has little or nothing to do with the quality of the fabric. it has to do with the quality of manufacture. unless the rails are moving very evenly, you can't get straight grain. straight grain means straight across. when you rip fabric, it will rip on grain, but not straight across. no amount of tugging, steaming, ironing, etc., will permanently re-set the fabrics. so if you cut, even though it's not on straight cross grain, whatever shape you cut, it will stay that shape due to the heat setting, which is why some people prefer cutting. it's very reliable.
to test your ripped fabric, lay your fabric on the floor. fold the way it is when you buy it. make sure the folded part has no wrinkles, and the edges are smack up against each other. if you look at the two ends, you will almost always see that one half of each end is longer than the other half. you have paid for the longer length, but can only use the shorter. if you are a 'washer', the problem is compounded, because the stiffening agent, which has helped keep the fabric even this even, has now dissolved. there is nothing to prevent the fabric from scewing even more.
waah? can anyone understand this? i almost don't myself.
when all of our fabrics were made in this country, this was a very unusual occurrence even in cheap fabrics. cheap meaning thin, poor thread quality or a loose weave. our fabric isn't made here anymore, and the quality has suffered. there are exceptions, but not many. if anyone has been lucky enough to rip and still have true cross grain, they are very lucky indeed.
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