Right after I got my first sewing machine, I bought the best pair of professional, super-sharp shears I could find. Just the other day, I took those shears out of their case to admire them. They’re still in perfect condition, and no wonder; I never use them. Since I discovered the rotary cutter, I’ve used nothing else for cutting garment fabric. From the sheerest silk to the heaviest overcoating, nothing else works as well. In case you’ve never seen one, a rotary cutter is a lot like a pizza cutter: a wheel- shaped blade on a handle, that cuts what ever it rolls over. Quilters have taken to rotary cutters en masse because they can easily wheel the razor-sharp blade along templates and straightedges to cut precise geometric shapes. But if you’re a sewer and loyalty to your shears has kept you from trying anything else, consider this: Properly used, rotary cutters are both a lot faster and a lot more accurate for all kinds of cutting. They’re faster because rolling the cutter is more like drawing a line than chopping it out with shears, and they’re more accurate because the fabric isn’t being lifted from the cutting surface as it’s being cut. Try trimming 1/16 in. from a cut edge with shears; with the cutter you can do it easily. The cutters are also easier on your hands, and you don’t even have to pin down your pattern. You’ll need a few extras To use rotary cutters, you’ll need some additional equipment weights to hold patterns in place, a straightedge or two to use as a guide, and a cutting mat. Almost anything you have handy will do for the first two, but you’ll need a specialized cutting mat that won’t dull the cutter’s razor-sharp blade or allow the surface underneath to be damaged. Creative pattern weights—I think it’s silly to pay for pattern weights when you probably have some ideal ones around al ready. I’ve used everything from my old shears to bean bags, but anything small, flat, and reasonably hefty will do. Any rulers, designers’ curves, or straight edges you’ve accumulated for other purposes are great for holding down long pieces, and you can often simply hold small pieces in place as you cut them. Simple edge guides—Quilters use care fully marked and shaped rulers to reduce their reliance on separate patterns. Sewers, however, don’t need anything more than a plain, transparent straightedge to simplify cutting the straight sections of patterns. I find it useful to have one long one for pant legs and sleeves, plus another easier-to-grab one for short edges. Since I always have a pattern underneath the ruler, any markings on the ruler are extraneous, if not distracting, so the fewer the better. The most important features of any cutting guide are that it resists being nicked or cut by the rotary cutter (eliminating flimsy plastic), and that you can see through It, so you can see where your pattern starts and stops. Large cutting mats—While small mats are suitable for cutting pieces for quilting, you’ll need a much larger mat for cut ting large pattern pieces. Several sources for big mats are listed on pp. 28-29, but if you can get even a small one now, you can try out anything I suggest here before in vesting in a larger mat. Manipulating the cutter There’s nothing complicated about using rotary cutters, but I’ve observed first time users struggling unnecessarily with them, and I’ve even heard people declare that they can’t get them to work. All these difficulties boil down to a few basic how to’s, so let’s start from the beginning. Safety—The first thing to do with your new rotary cutter is figure out its strategy for covering the blade when it’s not in use. Since it’s razor-sharp, it’s wise to treat it with caution. Most cutters are well designed for safety, but you shouldn’t leave uncovered rotary cutters around where children and other inquisitive folk might pick them up. And don’t test the blade with your fingers. Adjusting and changing the blade— While you’re examining your cutter, look for the screw knob that all cutters have for removing and changing blades. On some models this is also the knob that controls how easily the blade turns. Roll the cutter over the mat to make sure it rolls easily. Tighten or loosen the knob until you like the way it rolls and the blade isn’t loose or wobbly. Basic rolling—As you roll the cutter, keep the blade straight up and down, as you would a bicycle’s wheels when you’re pedaling straight ahead. Don’t bank to the side, even when you’re cutting a curve. When the blade is straight, you can look down on it from directly above and see clearly that you’re cutting exactly along the edge of a pattern. You’re also less likely to stress or nick the blade that way. Rotary blades should be replaced when they get dull or nicked; it’s easy to do, but new blades can cost as much as $5. They will last through many garments if you’re careful with them. (Or you can send blades away for sharpening) Olfa blades, the most widely available, will fit all cutter brands except Kai/Dritz. Now get out some scrap fabric and try cutting a small pattern piece. The main thing is to roll the cutter along in a smooth, continuous line away from your self while exerting a steady, firm down ward pressure. Don’t saw back and forth, or move in short bursts. When you’ve cut an entire pattern piece, it should lift from the background fabric like a piece from a jigsaw puzzle, but don’t yank it away before checking for and clipping any uncut threads, or you’ll disturb the rest of the fabric. If you find that small sections of the line aren’t cut through, give them another quick touch from the cutting wheel, and press a little harder next time. If there are a few uncut threads regularly spaced 3 to 4 in. apart along the cut, it’s likely that your blade is nicked, and should be replaced or sharpened. Properly used rotary cutters are a lot faster and a tot more accurate than shears. A guide to rotary cutters and mats for sewing I f you’re in the market for a cutter and mat, following are some features to consider. The cutter and mat you select is a highly individual preference, but it’s not always easy to try before you buy. In an effort to get a fresh perspective on the current offerings, I asked a group of local sewers who had not previously used rotary cutters to try them and share their impressions. Cutter comments The cutters we examined for safety, comfort, and any obvious highlights are shown on the facing page. Most notions racks include cutters, but you’ll also find sources for cutters online. Safety: Dropping a cutter or brushing against its razor- sharp blade is always a possibility, so get in the habit of engaging the safety mechanism even when setting the cutter down momentarily. Only the mechanisms of the Quilter’s Rule (QR), the Fiskars, and the X-Acto offer complete protection against these likely mishaps. The QR cutter has the most childproof and goof-proof system: a locking shield that takes two hands and a bit of fiddling to deactivate. Next comes the Fiskars, which is the only cutter whose blade, instead of the safety mechanism, moves in and out of play; the small orange lever flicks the blade forward for action. Neither the QR nor the Fiskars can be forced to cut with the safety engaged even if pressed hard against a surface. The X-Acto’s snap-on cap is in this category, too, but since the cap completely detaches and can thus easily be lost, we deemed it the least safe of all. The Olfa and Salem both have sliding shields that move to cover the blade, but both can be defeated with firm pressure. The Rai/Dritz has a unique safety shield that's always on, held in place by an adjustable spring, so it’s supposed to slide out of the way as you apply pressure to begin cutting. This obviously offers minimal protection, especially to little hands pushing on the shield to explore it. Comfort: If you’re cutting small pieces, such as for quilts, you can do a lot of cutting while seated. The manufacturers designed curved-handle cutters for use while seated, claiming that these handles are also more comfortable for those with arthritis, tendonitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Everyone will have to make his or her own judgment about this. The curved cutters require somewhat more pressure, and a different sort of pressure, than the straight ones. The angled-head Salem requires the most off- axis pressure. Each curved or angled cutter can be set up with the blade mounted on the right or left (good news for lefties), and of course the straight ones merely need to be flipped. The X-Acto is sort of a hybrid—a straight handle that bends at the blade, which is in the center of the cutter, not on the side. The Fiskars’ rounded handle is the most comfortable of all, but users with small hands had to stretch their thumbs to reach the safety lever. The ridges outlining the QR’s handle were judged somewhat uncomfortable by almost all of our testers. Obvious design flaws or virtues: The following are more or less subjective reactions noted by us as we tried each cutter: The spring-loaded safety of the Kai/Dritz sometimes interferes with the cutting action by rubbing against and distorting the fabric, despite being adjustable. The Fiskars blade is hard to see from directly above, so it’s hard to follow the edge of a pattern unless guided by a ruler. The adjustable guide arm available for the Olfa is useful if you want to add seam allowances as you cut. (The Kai/Dritz is the only other cutter to offer an accessory guide, but it’s not as easy to use.) You can’t see the Salem’s blade from above while cutting, and its safety lever is a bit close to the blade for comfort. Too bad the X Acto’s cover snaps completely off, since this is otherwise a nice, straightforward design. Large cutting mats For sewers, a mat needs to be at least big enough to accommodate an entire pant leg, and the full width of folded 60-in, fabric, which means the mat should be at least 30 in. wide by 45 in. long. Only two companies that I know of sell mats that big designed for rotary cutters. The Sewing Emporium, and the Sew/Fit Company, both sell mats up to 4 by 8 ft. which can be cut to fit other shapes, either at home or before shipping. The least expensive mat is the Emporium’s 30- by 55-in, plain white, non-gridded version ($39.95), and the most expensive is Emporium’s 4- by 8.ft. gridded one ($142.95). The Sew/Fit mats come in two versions— gridded white, similar to the Emporium’s gridded mat, and gridded “pinnable,” a translucent, just barely-push pinnable surface that has a subtle pebble texture. (You’ll find that sheer fabrics will slip under the pressure of the Kai/Dritz safety on the slick, plain white mats, but they’re no problem on the pebbled surface.) Sew/Fit mats range from $45.95 for plain white 32 by 55 in. to $119.95 for pinnable 4 by 8 ft. I’ve been using the same plain Sewing Emporium mat with an Olfa cutter for over 12 years with no problems. It covers my entire table top, and I occasionally sponge it clean. A wise precaution to take with any kind of mat isn't to expose it to hot objects, such as hot cups of tea or irons, and don’t leave it in the sun, which buckles it. And be careful not to leave a mat in a hot car or car trunk. I keep a 15-by 24-in. padded, muslin-covered scrap of plywood near my sewing machine on my mat covered table, and a scrap of cutting mat near my ironing board at all times so that either workstation can serve for either purpose at all times. Juli Tailor, Inc. has a cutting-and-pressing product (called The Quilter’s Cut ’n Press; check your quilting retailer or check online) that fills the same bill. It’s a 12-in, square cutting mat with a built-in handle, and on the flip side there’s a padded, muslin- covered pressing area. An inexpensive ruler Here’s a ruler that you can make that works well for garment cutting. If you can find a plastics supplier in Google that will custom-cut small pieces of Plexiglas, find out how much they’ll charge to cut you the exact straightedge you want from 3 stock. I’ve got a 3-by 36-in. piece that my local store would cut today for about $3 (plus a few dollars for polishing the edges). I put a transparent, permanently adhesive measuring tape on both long edges, and it’s the main ruler I need for cutting out garments. With this ruler and the other two smaller rulers that are shown in the photo above, you’re ready for rotary cutting. 29 Rotary cutters come with a variety of handle shapes, blade guards, and wheel sizes. Shown here are the blue Quilter’s Rule (A), turquoise Kai/Dritz (B), red Kai/Dritz (C), white Salem (D), purple X-Actos (E), gray Fiskars (F), and yellow Olfa (G). Sewers need minimal marking on transparent rulers such as the Scovill Dritz (H) and Salem square (I); white cardboard makes a good cuff template (J). You can make your own cutting edge from a strip of Plexiglas tagged with a transparent ruler tape (K). Cutting techniques You’ll probably notice that as you cut, the fabric tends to buckle in front of the blade. This is more of a problem with some fabrics than others, but it’s easy to eliminate. How to keep the fabric from shifting— If you’re cutting next to a ruler or straightedge, the pressure of the ruler alone is enough to keep the fabric at the cutting line from shifting as you cut. Here’s what to do when you’re cutting next to a weighted pattern without a guide: First, don’t try to cut through pattern and fabric at the same time. Your rotary cutter can make quick work of trimming pattern pieces, so cut the patterns to ex act shapes first and use them as guides. Now you have several choices for cut ting methods as shown on the facing page. One is to hold the fabric down with your fingertips near the edge you’re cut ting, moving fingers along to stay near the cutter. Another choice is to hold the fabric directly behind the cutter. With this method you won’t have to move the holding down hand as long as you’re cut ting in a more or less straight line away from it. When you curve away, hold down from a new position. Start cuts by holding fabric down alongside the cutter, or by cutting the first inch by rolling to wards yourself, as you hold the fabric down in front of the cutter. Inside corners and curves—Even when you’re comfortable using rotary cutters, it’s difficult to tell exactly where the cut ting line ends. This makes inside corners hard to cut without overcutting, so I stop short, then clip to the corner with scissors. You can overcut outside corners slightly. If you find curves a challenge, try a few practice armscyes, never turning unless you’re rolling. For tight curves, the smaller rotary blades are better than the big ones, but you can cut neckline-sized curves with either blade. I’ll admit to using scissors on really tiny curves, like on a rounded- point collar, but even these can be rotary-cut with a firm template as a guide. Turning the pattern—When you’re cut ting pattern pieces smaller than, say, a typical shirt sleeve, you may find it easier first to chop out the pattern roughly with a few quick rotary cuts. Then you can swivel the whole piece around with the pattern still on top, positioning the side you’re cutting in the most convenient direction, without disturbing the rest of your pat tern layout. This works especially well with small details such as collars and cuffs you haven’t weighted down but will simply hold under the pattern as you cut. Marking and detailed cutting Rotary cutters also make quick work of several other cutting tasks in garment construction. I find rotary cutters appropriate for marking match points such as notches, trimming seam allowances, and cutting many copies of the same shape such as cuffs, collars, and pocket flaps with the use of templates. Quick match points —You can make extremely quick and accurate markings on your pattern pieces, especially if you’re using moderately deep seam allowances, such as at least ¼ in. To mark the center of any piece you’ve cut on a fold, just add a notch by trimming a tiny triangle about 1/8 to ¼ in. from the end of the folded edge. For markings along an edge, roll slightly into the seam allowance at a right angle, through fabric and pattern on top of each notch. The resulting slit may be enough of a marker, but if you want it more visible, roll in at a slight angle to the slit, cutting away a tiny triangle about 1/8 to ¼ in. long. Trimming seams—Try a cutter whenever you need to trim a seam allowance precisely (particularly a long one). Use a straightedge, if possible, even on slight curves, by distorting the seam a little and holding it in place with the straightedge as you to roll off the excess. I keep a small cutting mat with my ironing equipment so I can slip it under just-pressed seams for trimming on the ironing board. Templates for accurate pieces—When ever you come up with a detail that you’ll use frequently—a pocket flap, a cuff, or a collar—take a tip from the quilters and make yourself a firm template to use as a cutting guide. I draw the shape I want on quilters’ template plastic or poster board (if transparency isn’t important), add seam allowances, and cut the template with sharp paper scissors, except for the straight lines; they’re better done with a rotary cutter. Transparent templates are helpful when you need to position the shape on a fabric print or pattern. Ready to shop for a cutter? Now that you’ve read about what you may have been missing, I hope you’ll give rotary cutters a try. If you’re convinced that the real question about rotary cutters isn’t “Should I?”, but “Which one?”, you’ll find a rundown of the options above. |
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Sunday, 2010-12-05 3:04
