pre-cuts

[Beth A.]

Is it just me, or does anyone else have trouble with pre-cuts? On several occasions I have tried layer cakes and they have several squares that are not square. It is very difficult to make them work in a quilt because they are quite distorted. Would appreciate any suggestions. I have also had some problems with other pre-cuts, however, the layer cakes seem to be the worse. I don't think I will buy them again. I thought they would be great time savers but have found them to be more trouble than they are worth.

[Andree B.]

I bought bali-pop once (2 1/2 strips) - thinking that I would love all the colors - but it turned out that half of the fabric I wouldn't have bought if I had seen the whole picture. I managed to make a nice QUAYGO, but I will not buy them again.
The other thing, I prefer to pre-wash my fabric, so I might as well buy yardage, and rotary cut - but if you own an Accuquilt, you can make strips easily and fast.

Andrée

[Andree B.]

I can see the difficulty if you prefer to pre-wash your fabrics. Pre-cuts are great for applique and scrap quilts which utilize lots of pieces. I use them for hexagons, Farmers Wife Blocks and Dear Jane blocks that are under 7 or 8 inches. I have never used them as they are cut and sewn them together without cutting them into smaller shapes or pieces. Since the squares are about the size I need for those projects, I don't need to buy large cuts, and they allow a broader selection of fabrics for the type of quilts that I do. For example, I recently made a Stamp Basket quilt, and I made two 5 inch stamp baskets out of 1 ten inch square. Thus a layer cake with 42 square = 84 blocks.

[Constance G.]

I am such a die-hard pre-washer that pre-cuts don't do well for me. The worst was the baby quilt kit with die-cut turtle shapes...I almost made a real mess of it before I got them stitched down. ops: I'll just keep my trusty rotary cutter handy!

[Marianne G.]

I won't even buy FQs any more that are pre-packed since I had a very bad experience with some I bought at a show.
I was going to use these for making scarves for Christmas so only opened the packages recently. The company never even replied to me e-mail when I wrote and complained.
I have also in the past bought pre-cut strips that were so wonky I had to cut them into squares to use them
So in future I stay well away from pre-packaged fabric - this is one experience I have learnt from


Marianne

[Hannelore N.]

Marianne I have had similar problems to you. Moda seems to be one of the companies that produces very accurate pre-cuts.

[Jill B.]

I also have had similar problems but have found Moda to be real good and seem to be cut very well and the serated edge helps with no fraying. I have used the squares and mostly the 5inch ones for applique as most times I have only needed small amounts so I find this better cost wise, and you can add the bits oeft over to your stash and use the left overs for other applique projects. But I find that I need to buy the expensive ones like Moda as I said above they are very well cut, the other brand I have bought and fouond great are Edyta Sitars' fabric at Laundry Basket Quilts.

[Jill B.]

I too, have never had an issue with Moda precuts, or any factory packaged precuts. However, I have seen inaccuracy in precuts from box stores, shows and quilt shops. where the precuts were cut directly from bolts of yardage. I live on a ranch on the edge of the Texas Wild Horse Desert. There are no quilt shops within 100 miles. I can order a charm pack online without spending a lot of money, and if I love the fabrics, order yardage later. I would love to see more applique backgrounds, and fat eighth bundles available. If you live in a remote area, like me, these precuts are really handy. Love those candies 2.5 inch squares for English paper piecing hexagons.Thank you so much for sharing.

[Diane M.]

I do not like pre-cuts. I bought a Bali-pop 2 1/2" strips and there were a lot I couldn't use because they were 2 1/4 in spots. The other thing I do is price out what you are paying per yard - nixs the spending right away. You pay premium for someone else to do the cutting.
Diane in Wyoming

[Diane M.]

You are so right. But, I live many, many miles from a quilt shop. Most online retailers dealing with quality fabrics will not cut less than 1/2 to 1 yard. If you know some please post. Many thanks.

[Diane M.]

You are so right. But, I live many, many miles from a quilt shop. Most online retailers dealing with quality fabrics will not cut less than 1/2 to 1 yard. If you know some please post. Many thanks.

I understand. It is 70 miles to my nearest quilt shop. Most of the quilting I do pre-cuts are not necessary. I do collect a fat quarter here and there when a shop I might visit has them discounted. I like to use Edyta Sitars half square triangle paper on them. But I don't buy collections anymore. Just like fabric they got more and more expensive.
Diane in Wyoming

[Diane M.]

No doubt some precuts are better than others. The same goes for kits. Of course, you don't' know how good they are until you buy them! I have more of an issue with the quality of fabric and cuts being ongrain. I learned that if I buy a kit, to make the quilt right away. If for some reason you need more fabric, it usually is still available on a bolt somewhere!