this is the fourth in the series: exclusion A : we aren't considering drop matches in this explanation.

once you have cut your allocated inside back and outside back cuts, lie them over the area and pin into it to hold it on the body site. Move on now to cut the arms.

A note about the deck, it is not covered with the inside back piece ( block cut ) as if extended. I will have you piece ( sew together ) the deck with scrap as the chance arrises. The wastefrom previous cuts go here.

We need to consider motif here. An all over pattern, non directional, not napped, or if being solid, will not be discussed specifically. I am going to tell you about pattern with direction and or nap, as that is harder and more specific.

Your inside arm will have a size ( width, arm front to inside back ) , measure to see IF the cut size including tuck (width, above ) that you will need is less than or more than half a width ( half of 54" ) of the cloth . Check the outside arm as well, though rarely can you cover an outside arm with half a width ( half of 54" ).

Yes, I used the word piece with two meanings, and the word width with two meanings in the previous paragraphs. Don't get stuck on this, visualize as you go.

Now, locate ( given your pattern motif, if one ) where you need to center a motif. Couple tricks here. You can never see both outside arms at once. If need be, they could get away with not being the same. We'll try and make them the same here. On the outside arm, the center for the motif can be just about anywhere you choose, including sharing it's picture with the skirt. Take some time and decide. And, then cut big blocks anyway so you still have even more choices.

The picture ( motif ) on my inside arms, if that picture is small, is high and forward. The picture may be big, and the arm big, giving you other choices. The picture may be big, and the arm small. In that case, a secondary ( small ) picture may be better, if available.

This is just to describe the handling of the cuts and the cutting of them. Say I needed the full width for both inside and outside arms. Say my repeat is 24". Say my draping the cloth from deck to skirt line takes two repeats with cloth to spare to enable a nice big block cut. If I had one chair, and two arms, and needed two repeats per arm, I'd need four repeats. That's four repeats having cut off ( wasted ) any half cut off picttures. Four repeats, complete and not having any tails from the last reapeat.


You'd count off four complete repeats, clip, turn the fabric back on itself evenly like before, form that fold, and whack off all four repeats in one cut. Then trim away the tails of any repeat that was on the beggining of the cut. You have a sheet of four complete repeats ( assume the center is the picture for picture framing).

It needs to be folded in half same selvage to same selvage and cut in two, with the fold back on itself and slitting method. Cut four repeat sheet in half to yeild two pieces, two repeats each, full width. One two repeat sheet may do either two inside arms and two outside arms or one inside arm and one outside arm each. The simplest universal procedure is to assume the best use is to have each piece be one inside arm and one outside arm. I'll explain.

You have two cut pieces, two repeats long. Hold them both right sides together and rightside up with the raw edges together at top . If you have done this, the motifs will fall on top of one another ( note exclusion A at top paragraph ). They should be the same length and width, and should be willing ( right sides ) to adhere to one another a bit. Drape the bottom cut edge over the inside arm. Either arm, bottom cut edge, the motif should be going in the proper direction. Yes, it's 48 by 54 and a little awkward. Center the pattern ( yes it's inside out ) as you wish. Drape enough into the deck for tuck and over the arm roll for excess on your cut. If your pattern on the remaining fabric ( now draping upside down over to the outside arm ) will not be harmed by whacking this off now, do so. If the previous was true, you should be able to turn the remaining cloth ( for outside arm ) upright ( turn clockwise half an hour ) and have sufficient covererage for the outside arm, and have the picture fall within the frame.

This sounds very tedious. The explanation is, the action is not. The entire action is streamlined and can take place inside of several minutes. Luckily, you need not sit thru many tedious explanations to get an inside or outside arm under circumstances different per larger repeat or narrower arm. Once you get this, with a normal size chair and a 24" repeat, the modifications will come to you. Exclusion A is for me, a reason to cut in a single layer only. A drop match will not place your pictures where you want them, using this procedure. For me, I'd do single on half. You may prefer to shop pattern and take more time to arrange these drop match pictures and then cut double on half.

These four posts have been long and tedious and so far you only have four areas block cut. I have told you the major cutting strategies that are peculiar to cutting fast standing up with no table.

The block cuts remaining, the arm front, the wings if any, the deck may be had from scraps from the previous cutting of blocks or may need to be taken from bolt. No special peculiar ways to do this are needed, it's fussy and a personal choice.

Finish allotting your block cuts to all areas of the body, save for skirts. The next task will be anchoring. Double check that you have pinned for the sake of saving the information, the block to the area that it is to cover.