Cutting Cloth

[Tim Baude]

I have a friend who makes purses and quilts. She would like to see if I can cut the fabric. The purses are cotton. Any suggestions on how to do this and can I cut more than 1 piece at a time? The cutting is her biggest pain, and I thought I could do it. I would appreciate any help in this matter. I would love to help her out.
Thanks
Tim

[Doug Griffith]

I've cut a lot of different fabrics. You can stack layers but you should make a fixture out of something like acrylic to keep them sandwiched together. In the jig sample below, layers 1 - 4a would be glued together. 4c is the "floater" that sandwiches using gravity. The foil layer prevents the jig from getting cut. Having tabs makes dealing with fabric easier. You have to be careful cutting fabric because it wants to flare up.

http://www.dogcollarlabor.com/smc/IMAGES/cut_fabric_jig.gif

[Joe Pelonio]

Funny timing, I just cut a piece of Rowmark ADA for the bottom of a purse my wife was making. For quilts I make her a lot of templates but usually don't cut her fabric.

I wouldn't mess with it in quantity. I have used card stock between layers and done 3-4 at a time but it's a lot of work. For small pieces there's a temporary spray adhesive that can be used to attach it to card stock.