How to Tuesday: Free-cutting Will Set You Free!

A valuable skill to develop as a maker of fused art quilts is the skill of free-cutting. Free-cutting is cutting shapes directly out of fabric with sharp scissors. You don't use a pattern or a drawn line on the fabric. Like a child cutting out paper shapes, you cut with abandon. Ah, youth!

Free-cutting gives you the opportunity to develop your personal style of art work. Everyone has their own methods of cutting fabric. You may cut smooth shapes, others hack around a shape. You may work large, others cut small meticulous shapes. These methods of cutting fabric become your signature style.

The more you free-cut the less rigid your work becomes. The more you free-cut, the more personal your art becomes. It's like releasing both your belt and suspenders. Free-cutting sets you free!