Proper Folding Makes a Difference

I'm really working on my precision. I'm slowing down, taking my time, and trying new techniques. In Quilts Made Modern by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr, Weeks says "In quilting, small errors have a way of multiplying, leading to bigger problems.  It all begins with cutting..."

And I'm finding that to be very true (well, who am I to contradict Weeks, but I mean it; she is right). This tip is about folding the fabric with the straight of grain to get a nice precise strip. Quite often I'd have unintentional wonky strips and had no idea why because I cut them the right length and width.

Here's the story...I was in the habit of folding the fabric straight across the selvages:

Sometimes I'd have a wave, but I'd just smooth it out. Turns out that some of my strips would have bias in them and ultimately would not provide a truly straight strip.

What I've learned from Abbe (thanks Abbe!) is that that approach is wrong. The straight of grain should dictate how the fabric is folded; not the salvage. Look at the difference:

Also, the grain that goes the length of the fabric (the warp) is less likely to stretch. That means that if you're going to cut long strips e.g., for a border, you want to cut it along the warp rather than crosswise (the weft). Give it a try; pull on the length of your fabric and then the width. The width will have more give...honest!

Hope you like this idea. Any tip that makes it easier to complete a project is a tip worth sharing!