Yesterday, I introduced you to several cutting tools and accessories for quilting that include the new Omnigrip 5″ square ruler, the OLFA 45 mm Ergonomic Rotary Cutter and the OLFA 60 mm cutter also with the Ergonomic Handle.
The fabrics for my scrappy houses quilt are fat quarters or smaller, so I won’t need the 60mm cutter for this project. But if you have larger pieces of fabric, you might like to use the Omnigrid Ruler Grip with Double Suction Cup on one of the larger Omnigrip rulers or squares to cut your fabric into 5″ strips.
Omnigrid Ruler Grip with Double Suction Cup and OLFA 45 mm Ergonomic Rotary Cutter
Let’s get started!
Using the OLFA 45 mm Ergonomic Rotary Cutter, cut your fabric into 5″ strips. It doesn’t matter what length the strips are, as long as you can cut 5″ squares from them. When using the OLFA Steel Rotary Blade or the OLFA 45 mm Endurance rotary blade in the OLFA 45 mm Ergonomic Rotary Cutter, you can cut 6 – 8 layers at once. This is a real-time saver when you’re making scrappy quilts!
Cut 5″ squares
Use the Omnigrip 5″ x 5″ ruler to cut the 5″ strips into 5″ squares. Each square will make 1 house plus there will be extra fabric to use for the doors and the pieced border. I needed 15 houses, but I cut a few extra 5″ x 5″ squares so I would have lots of variety in my blocks.
5″ squares
Cut the 5″ squares so you have 1 – 3″ x 5″ strip and 1 – 2″ x 5″ strip.
Cut 5″ squares into 3″ and 2″ strips
From the background fabric, cut 1¾” squares. You need 2 – 1¾” squares for each house. Using a fabric marking tool, draw a diagonal line on the back of each square.
Draw diagonal lines on the backs of 1¾” squares.
Using OLFA 45 mm Ergonomic Rotary Cutter, OLFA Steel Rotary Blade, OLFA 45 mm Endurance rotary blade and OLFA 45 mm Ergonomic Rotary Cutter, certainly makes the process a breeze and saves time. Be sure to come back tomorrow and I’ll show you how to sew your little scrappy houses.