As much as I love to crochet I have another craft I love that compliments crochet nicely. I sew.
Lately most of my sewing has been about making project bags for my crochet endeavors, or linings for crochet projects. Sewing isn’t as portable as crochet, and that is the reason I spend less time sewing lately. My life is full of “on-the-go” situations and crochet can accompany me everywhere.
When I do sew, the biggest part of the task isn’t really the sewing…it’s the cutting out the fabric in the shapes to be sewn. I am fortunate that I have a big table that is tall enough that I can cut at it without hurting my back. Best of all it has a cutting mat on it so I can use my rotary cutter.
Rotary cutters are a necessity if you are doing more than cutting a single short line. Scissors are certainly an efficient means of cutting fabric, but they begin to take a toll on your hands after a while. It is also more difficult to get a clean cut with scissors, since you need to have the blades on either side of the fabric.
With a Rotary cutter, the blade slices thru from top to bottom with minimal disturbance of your fabric. Of course the sharper the cutter the easier it is to cut your fabric.
Which leads me to my least favorite part about rotary cutters. Their blades are very sharp and it is easy to cut yourself with them without even realizing it. I have learnt the hard way not to use my rotary cutter when I am tired or distracted.
One safety feature I like about my Fiskar Rotary cutter is that the blade is retractable. This is nice from the standpoint of avoiding cutting myself, but it also helps keep the blades sharp longer as it isn’t bumping against other implements in my work basket.
I’ve had my rotary cutter for quite a while, so if you are looking to purchase your own rotary cutter there may be some better ones available now. Either way, a nice sharp rotary cutter and mat can help keep your hands happy during your next big fabric cutting project. Just remember to be careful of that very sharp edge.
Mamas2Hands 