Upstairs/Downstairs - Cutting Segments -

 

 

As promised -

 

Today I pressed one set of strata - 

 

For my Upstairs/Downstairs - Seedlings - 

 

All nice and neat - 

 

And will try to show you how I run them through my die cutter - 

Getting them as straight as possible - 

 

So as to not get any "wonky" cuts - ;))

 

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First I press the strata as flat as possible - 

 

Pressing the MIDDLE and END strips OUT - 

 

 

Then take them to my "Studio" die cutter - 

 (See NOTE below -)

As you can see - 

I can cut 5 strips at a time with this 2-1/2" strip cutter die -

 

I take the first strata - 

 

SEAMS SHOWING - 

 

And place it as straight as I can on the die - 

 

With the selvedge edge extending just past the "blade" on the right - 

 

Some people use a silver Sharpie to mark the blade lines - 

 

And then they mark horizontal lines across the die - 

 

To help with placement - 

 

But I can see both the blades and the seam lines - 

 

So I just "eye-ball it" - 

 

And it looks pretty straight to me - 

 

So I fold the strata over onto itself at the left edge - 

 

Just past the last blade on the left - 

 

And then back again at the right side -

 

For three "fan-fold" layers - 

 

That leaves some "ends" on the left side -

 

And I don't want those to "snag" as they go through the cutter - 

 

So I "tuck" them in the "ditch" at the side of the tray - 

 

Then I take the second strata - 

 

And do the same thing -

 

Shifting the second strata down a bit - 

So that all of the seams don't wind up on top of each other - 

 

The Studio die cutter can handle up to 10 layers of fabric -

And because of the way I press the strata - and fan-fold it -

I get 9 layers at the "seam" on the first strata -

If I can shift the second strata to only have 3 layers - 

I can get it down to 12 layers total -

Which is pushing it -

But I haven't had any trouble - so far - 

 

Anyway - 

 

First layer of the second strata -

Fold it at the left side -

 

But you can see the bottom layer peeking out -

 

So I had to adjust that to straighten it out - 

 

There - that's better - 

 

Then folded it at the right side - 

 

And "tucked" the ends - 

 

Looks straight to me - 

 

Add the plastic mat - 

 

Being careful not to disturb my "straight" strata - 

 

My "Studio" lives on my dining room table - 

 

Where it is easily accessible - 

 

Crank it all through - 

 

Carefully remove the plastic mat - 

 

Peel off the "ends" on both sides - 

 

Roll up the cut segments - 

 

And they look pretty straight - 

 

If I have one or two "wonky" cuts somehow -

 

I have a couple of "ends" that I could use to replace them -

 

But I try not to do that - 

 

Because I don't have enough to replace a whole block's worth of segments - 

So now - 

 

Take them to the ironing board - 

 

Sort them out - 

 

Sew the tubes -

 

And continue - ;))

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - 

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NOTE - 

Years ago I splurged and got a "Studio" cutter - 

The heavy duty one - when it was on sale -

Then I got the "conversion kit" - so that it would fold up - 

(Now they have the "Studio 2" - a fold-able one - LOL - )

 

Then I s.l.o.w.l.y. built up my collection of dies - 

 

I made my "wish list" - 

And waited p.a.t.i.e.n.t.l.y. - LOL - 

When they had a 50% off sale -

I would get two for the price of one -

 

The strip cutters are my favorites - 

They are far more versatile - 

Than some of the "one-trick ponies" - ;))