Joyce R. Becker Landscape Quilter blog

SECRETS FOR CUTTING FABRICS FOR

LANDSCAPE QUILTS

So, what's the secret ingredient I use when cutting small elements

for my landscape quilts? STARCH is my good friend and secret weapon.

Not just any ordinary can of spray starch, that won't do! And sizing? It absolutely won't do! 

There are actually a couple steps that assist me when I cut the elements out for my landscape quilts. 

#1. I mix my own concentrated liquid starch in a spray bottle. Here's the trick: Mix one third water and two thirds starch and shake well.

#2. Heat your iron to the highest setting on dry, NOT STEAM. 

#3. Spray the fabric you will be cutting out on both the front and the back with the starch/water mixture. 

#4. Let the starched fabric set for a couple minutes, otherwise, when you put you iron to it, you will get a glaze on the fabric. 

#5. Iron the back side of the fabric first, then repeat on the front. Sometimes, you have to iron it again.

#6. Use very sharp scissors. I like Karen Kay Buckley's scissors pictured below. If I am cutting larger elements, such as mountains, I like Fiskar Razor-sharp spring-loaded scissors.  

#7. Since I have starched the fabric so much that it almost stands up by itself, I move the fabric while I cut, not the scissors!

#8. I spread a beach towel on my lap and cut out my prestarched fabrics while I watch television at night. That way, I can kill two birds with one stone.

 

Here are some elements I cut out with my starched fabric and the Karen Kay Buckley Scissors