Atlas QAL Week 3: Cut Curves & Piece C
Posted by Kit Garcia on
Now that the WOFs are sewn, it's time to start cutting our curved pieces A & B and then use template C to cut out those WOF pieces.
You'll notice in some of the images a small rectangle between the template and the fabric. That's because I like to use a double sided sticky strip to stabilize the template. Whether you use the paper templates, or the acrylic, this method works to prevent the template from sliding while cutting. After awhile of use, it becomes less like tape, and more like a rubbery bumper.
One common question when cutting curves is: Does direction matter? In this case the answer is a resounding yes. For the long answer check out this video I posted on my YouTube channel that goes into detail about cutting curves and in what way the direction matters.
Pieces A & B are fairly straight forward. You'll cut two at a time because the fabric is folded length wise. Be sure to follow the diagrams in the pattern so that the lines on the template that intersect the center points, line up with the wane of the fabric.
For piece B a regular 2" roto cutter can be used, however for those tight inside curves of pieces A & C a 28mm or smaller detail roto cutter is preferred.
Piece C will be used over the WOF sewn strips. If you are using the clear acrylic rulers, line the center strip edges to the center guiding lines.
If you are using a paper template line the edges of the center strip to the 2 guide lines on either side.
Cut the straight edges of the template starting with the largest ones first
Finish cutting piece C by cutting out the inside curved line. Take care not to stretch or pull the fabric on that inside curve as you cut.
Next week we will begin sewing the curved pieces together to finish our hexes. If you don't own a 1/4" guide foot for your machine, now would be a good time to get one, however, no pin curves CAN be done without one, it's just slower and trickier. I'll go over how to accomplish the no pin curves using 2 different methods, as well as some of the pitfalls to avoid when sewing curves this way.