Wednesday 30 November 2011

A simple trick to cut waste when cutting!



After too many years of trying to reconcile Burda's insistence that all fabrics come in metred widths of 140-150 cm, when Thai Silks and other emporia of delicious luxuries sell 45 inch fabric ordered by the yard, I devised a simple way to measure how much I'd need to order, without unnecessary waste or customs duties.
I bought three metres of cheap but sturdy muslin at IKEA and marked off the whole length in washable pencil at the 45 inch width point (bottom photo with finger) and from one end, the yardage at intervals of quarters, thirds and half yards, (middle photo.)  Now I can lay down a pattern, plan the cutting layout, and then buy only exactly what I need.
These photos are pretty drab, but perhaps you can see how handy a pre-measured layout cloth is, not only for those of us ordering long distance, but anyone trying to use a Burda pattern in a 45-inch world.

5 comments:

  1. I wish I were that methodical! I usually buy fabric on a whim and without a certain pattern in mind. The other way around simply doesn't work for me. Just now I looked for fabric for a girl's coat and couldn't find what I had in mind, so I had to buy RTW...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brilliant! Just brilliant! Of course, I usually add on an extra 20-30cm "just in case", a ruse to have more spare fabric once I'm done cutting. I'm a shortie too, so I always end up with leftovers anyway, which makes me happy. However, when I'm trying to squeeze my budget to buy expensive fabrics, your method would help me out heaps! So thanks very much!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is a great idea! I usually buy extra fabric since I am forever adding length, but this would be ideal for expensive silks and things that I have been eyeing for some special projects. Thanks for the great tip!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, that's clever. I am very guilty of over-buying. I'm always worried about not having enough fabric.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice! I wish I was that organised.

    ReplyDelete