Rotary Fever

Like this bad boy electric rotary cutter? It can spin its way through an inch of fabric without skipping a beat. Brilliant. Looking for and finding time savers is an essential part of “industrial” grade quilting and sewing. It can mean the difference between bringing a product to market and having it sit in a corner of your home taking up space. Which means, YOU are not sitting at that desk at your day job taking up space wishing you were someplace else.

To use this tool (which my husband clearly has some envy over) I first stack the fabric being meticulous about lining up the edges, smoothing out any wrinkles. Often, I will iron pieces first. It takes some preplanning because you have to know what size and shape your pieces are going to be. You also have to mark the top piece with the cut lines. This tool is not set up to run along the edge of a ruler. You need a steady hand, which is easier than it sounds. Many of my projects use long strips that are 2.5 inches wide, so I will stack and cut an entire yard into 2.5 inch strips all at once. I don't always know where all those strips will be used, but typically I make up block units that I combine and re-combine again and again in different ways. I like playing with the designs, changing them up and I'm always scanning the internet for new ideas. If I run into a particular look that is selling better, I make more of it.

I do have some safety rules in place when I use this. It has a hair trigger and surprisingly few OSHA enhancements. I make sure the cutting table is completely clear of all other debris. I do cord management so it doesn't get hung up on anything. I make sure my hands are accounted for and out of the way, not in front of the cutting path. Lastly and most importantly, I make sure no one is in the room with me, so my concentration is on the cutting and I'm not being distracted by random comments or questions. This is awkward when someone asks me to demonstrate the tool, but I like my limbs attached just the way they are, thank you!