Weights for Muscles

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 Weights are not just for Muscles!

 Quilters love strip-piecing those long, skinny strips that are cut from a width of fabric. It makes piecing blocks, like a 9-Patch, more quick, efficient, and accurate. However, you need to cut the strips first. Cutting accuracy is ensured when you take some key steps before you make any cuts. I like to make sure that my cutting ruler and mat grid line up “one on top of the other. “I know that there are many quilters who do not use a quilt cutting mat which has a one-inch, incremental measurement grid printed on one or both sides. Some quilters rely solely on where the fabric’s cut edge is in relation to the cutting ruler. Their cutting mat is actually just a solid-colored mat. No measurements are shown. These are sometimes referred to as “craft” or “art” mats. Many professional quilters cut without this handy measurement grid. I can’t do it. I must use my cutting ruler with my quilt cutting mat for the best accuracy. 

 Coming from a garment sewing background before learning how to quilt gave me some cutting techniques that I don’t normally see in the quilting world. One of these is the use of weights to hold fabric in place while cutting and keeping it on-grain. I can’t do strip-piecing without my weights!

 Here is what happened recently. I sewed 3 strips together to sub-cut into smaller sections. Each strip is 1” wide. When I placed the strip onto my cutting mat, you can see it curved even though I sew one strip from top to bottom and the other from bottom to top. 










 I can’t cut without the strip being perfectly straight. This is one reason why I must use a gridded mat. I can instantly see when I am just slightly off of alignment. Yes, it does make a difference when you are 1/32” off and are cutting many small sections. It adds up to pieces not fitting properly. Look at my wooden ruler and see how the strip-piece has curved.




 I straighten my strip, visually aligning it with the mat’s grid. But, it’s a long strip and anything will make it move. I grabbed my weights. Yes, I am using an extra ruler and a rotary cutter as my weights! I know some quilters that literally use their hand weights.



 I do have small, fabric covered weights, too. Now, I can line up my ruler with my mat as perfectly as my eyes will allow me and be confident that my cuts are precise.



Written by Deb Slechta, State Guild President 2025

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