What is “fussy cutting”?

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In quilting, some people use the term “fussy cutting”. What is that?

Fussy cutting means cutting fabric very specifically to feature an image in the fabric.

So often when cutting fabric for a quilt, we will just cut strips of fabric and then cut those strips into pieces.

This is fine for most prints and quilt patterns, but sometimes you have a fabric print that you want to showcase. For example, pictures of people, animals, buildings or flowers and more could all be used a feature on a quilt block.

If you want these images to be featured, you can either cut your fabric like normal and hope for the best (which will sometimes randomly work, but usually not) or you can “fussy cut” the fabric.

So with this print, if I am cutting 4-1/2” squares and I want to feature a specific gingerbread man, I will have to cut that piece out especially.

To do this, I can either mark the fabric with a pencil or pen to indicate cutting lines or I can just centre the design when I’m cutting.

For a 4-1/2” square, I know that 2-1/4” will be the centre of the square, so I can centre that point and then cut.

Cutting a window the size you want out of cardboard can help you see what your piece will look like.

Fussy cutting adds a focus to your quilt block and can take your quilt to the next level, but it is a less efficient use of fabric, so if you want to fussy cut, be sure to buy extra.

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