chop chop chop - on fabric guillotines

When I was at Mathilda's Market last month, several customers were baffled by my fabric guillotine. I had assumed most quilters owned them. At least that's what I told myself when I invested in one last year. I think I spent $50-75. After reading about a few rotary cutter mishaps; I realized that although they are pricy, they worth every penny.

There are a number of brands on the market. Mine is a Sew Easy Fabric Cutter. It's 4.5" wide and 27.5" long. This means I can cut folded fabric from the bolt in one single slice. I can also quickly cut fabric strips and square up my quilt blocks. It looks like a typical fabric ruler except it has an enclosed 45mm rotary blade on one side.


In it's resting state, the blade is lifted up above the surface and does not stick out making it difficult to accidentally cut your fabric, desktop and fingers.


You engage the rotary blade by applying pressure to the top guard. As you press down, the blade is pushed down to the surface to cut.


Along with having a secure blade feature, the cutters usually are marked with measurements to make cutting strips of fabric easy. Mine is in imperial measurements and cuts strips ranging from 1.25 to 4.5 inches wide. It also has guides to help with cutting 30, 45 and 60 degree angles. It can used in conjunction with a marked cutting mat to get smaller and larger size cuts.


To cut a strip of fabric, simply lay your cutter on top of the fabric and align the fabric edge to the size you want cut. Here, I am cutting a 2.5" strip on the left of this piece of fabric.


After aligning your cutter, slide the guillotine to one end of the fabric without engaging it. Then beginning at an edge, press down and slide the cutter to the opposite end of the fabric. Normally, I put my left hand on the plexiglass section to apply pressure to keep the cutter from sliding off the fabric. I push down and cut with my right hand. I just couldn't manage both of those things and hold the camera at the same time for a photo.


Easy as pie, you've now got a tidy strip of fabric to work with. This one is 2.5"


That's pretty much all there is to it. The only other thing to remember is that like sewing machines, gadgets gather dust. It's worthwhile to periodically open up the cutter and dust it out to prevent lint build up. I change my blade once every 3 months, but I also cut and sell fabric for a living. If you're a home sewist, you probably won't need to change it very often. I used clover blades purchased in Japan. My guillotine was a bit of an investment, but it's been worth every penny to me.


Pros

• Keeps your fingers protected
• Cuts bolts of fabric easily in on go
• Makes tidy, ready-to-use fabric strips
• Works with multiple layers (I've cut up to six cleanly at once)
• Measurements are on the cutter, so you don't have to worry about aligning fabric to your cutting mat for basic strips
• Uses standard rotary blades
• The reverse side works well as a ruler and straight edge for cutting thinner strips
• Multi-directional - It works for both left & right handed people

Cons

• Only cuts straight lines. You still need a rotary blade for curved templates
• A bit pricy as far as sewing gadgets go
• Smallest width marked is 1.25", so you need a marked cutting mat for smaller size strips
• Without adequate pressure, the guillotine will slide on your fabric like all quilting templates do
• At 27.5", it's a bit large and sometimes awkward for angle cuts. I believe other sizes are available

Do you have a nifty cutting tool that you swear by? I've been looking at lazy susan spinning cutting mats and thinking of getting one. I'd love to know your secrets!