Cutting pieces according to a fabric's grain line results in more accurate piecing and a stronger finished quilt top. Following the grain line reduces stretching and distortion, enhancing the overall appearance of your finished quilt.
Grain is one of those quilting topics that you might not think is important, but the way we cut fabric in relation to its grain can produce quilt blocks that are accurate and easy to assemble — or blocks that just won't do what you want them to do.
In basic terms grain refers to the direction of the threads used in the weaving process for making fabric. Straight grain, or lengthwise grain, runs parallel to the selvedge, crosswise grain runs perpendicular to the selvedge, and bias grain is at a 45° angle to the selvedge.
Knits often have the most stretch on the crossgrain, so you can line up your pattern pieces on the grainline, and then the fabric will stretch around your body. However, sometimes the fabric plays a trick on you, and it has more stretch on the actual grainline, also called vertical stretch.
Cutting fabric on grain is important because it will ensure that our garment stretches out and wears evenly. It keeps the fabric's threads happy and level. You see, each pieces of fabric is made of thousands of threads.
Slow and steady wins the race! Whether you are quilting top to bottom, left to right, or along the diagonal, always start at the same end and finish at the other end, sewing in the same direction each time.
For a square quilt straight grain binding, meaning fabric strips cut cross grain or length-wise grain, will work well. If, however, you're binding a quilt with curved edges, you'll want to cut bias strips for your binding. The stretch in the bias makes it easier to maneuver the binding around the quilt's curved edges.
Cut borders from the lengthwise grain if at all possible. Cutting from the length of the fabric means you do not have to piece the border. The lengthwise grain is more stable so the border will have less stretch than borders cut on crosswise grain.
Feather and down quilts
Down is often mixed with feathers in a quilt - the more down there is, the softer, lighter and warmer your quilt or doona will be.
You can identify quality stitching by looking at the evenness and tightness of the stitches. A well-made quilt will have at least 6-8 stitches per inch, and they'll be evenly spaced out.
It's not uncommon to be given a direction like "cut against the grain". If you make a mistake and sew along the bias or against the grain, then you could find your fabric starts to pucker in places. It may also start to stretch in areas that shouldn't stretch.
Straight Line Quilting is a series of straight lines, stitched across the surface of the quilt. The lines can be parallel to the edge of the quilt for vertical or horizontal lines, or sewn on the diagonal, usually at a 45 or 60 degree angle, sometimes creating a grid pattern across the quilt.
Woven fabrics have a selvage edge that runs lengthwise along both sides. Pattern pieces drafted for woven fabrics will have a line with an arrow at both ends called the grainline. This line should run parallel to the selvages. Most often, the fabric you receive will not have an even crosswise cut.
If your selvage edge is more narrow than your seam allowance, that means it won't show up on your finished project. Usually, though, the selvage edge is going to be wider than your seam allowance. So if it's printed with words & different colors than your fabric, you'll want to cut it off.
The whole goal of slicing against the grain is to reduce the length of the muscle fibers to make chewing easier. Not to mention, this technique locks in those juices.
Types of Fabric Grainline
The straight grain is the most important grain to know and recognize as it runs down the length of the fabric, and this is what sewing pattern pieces need to be aligned with. CROSS - The cross-grain runs from side to side along the weft. This is perpendicular to the selvage.
Fold the fabric lengthwise so the selvages align and are perfectly flush. If the two sides of the edge you just cut also line up and are flush, your fabric is on-grain.
Lengthwise Grain (Warp): The lengthwise grains, or warp, are the long threads that run parallel to the selvage for the entire length of the fabric yardage.
The weft in the sewing world is more commonly called the Crosswise Grainline. As your fabric is being cut at the fabric store it is being cut along the crosswise grainline. When working with knits, this is the grainline with the greatest amount of stretch.