Last December, for our anniversary, Popa brought this rotary cutting machine home to me. I had seen it in Wal Mart one day while we were in town and said something about how nice it would be for cutting long binding strips; I didn't ask for it. Now there are things I ask for, many,many times before getting it, or maybe never, but this was something he thought I wanted.
I finished my quilt this afternoon and was ready to cut the binding strips, so I opened the box for the first time. To make sure I understood how to use it, I watched videos online.
There are two blades for the machine, one that cuts like pinking shears and one straight cut blade. So I put in the straight blade and got some scraps for practice. The instructions had told me the machine might not cut the first time because the tension would need to be set. So I piddled with that and this was the result: a mess!!
First of all, I couldn't hold the fabric so that it would go through straight. There was no pulling the fabric out to start over; it had to go all the way to the end to remove the fabric. After several attempts, with a heavier fabric, it finally cut, but it wasn't cut all the way through. My applecart was upset and since I wanted to get the binding ready today, I simply picked up the apples and carried on the old way,
with hand-held cutter, mat and ruler! I'll try again; perhaps it's just hard to teach an old dog, I mean an old woman, new tricks!Charlotte
hmmm, I wondered how that worked. Maybe another video or two is in order? Good luck. I need to cut binding tomorrow - but I will do it the same as always!
ReplyDeleteKaren
It would be hard to find a machine that could cut a more perfect binding than the one you did with your hand-held cutter. However, it might be a fun gadget to play with. Good luck on your next try!
ReplyDeleteI don't like upset apple carts! I'm sure you will figure it out, but sometimes the "old way" is best!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know there was such a machine. If it worked right it would be a peach of a handy machine to have. It sounds like it has design flaws. You'd of thought they would have made a way to remove fabric at anytime during cutting.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that it didn't work right. Maybe it'll help for light weight or smaller projects.
I'm with you I don't like upsetting the cart..I have my own way and it is hard to teach me new tricks..Susie
ReplyDeleteI know nothing about quiltinhg :)
ReplyDeleteDo know that several weeks ago ordered something to help me in my cooking. I returned the other day.
It was to heavy for me to hold and think it would be difficult to clean.
Sometimes the old ways are the best.....
Aw, don't you hate it when something "so wonderful" won't work like it should...? Sure hope you can figure it out. It was nice of hubby to buy it for you....
ReplyDeleteSet "the hubby" the job of figuring out how it works - you know he likes tinkering with mechanical stuff, ha ha!
ReplyDelete