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The steps that stop a garment coming out a size small or a print landing crooked.
Cutting is the point of no return on a sewing project. Fabric shrinks, prints need matching, and a piece cut on the wrong grain cannot be fixed. This takes half an hour and saves the whole project.
Pre-wash and dry the fabric the way the finished item will be washed
Natural fibres can shrink several percent on the first wash. If you skip this, the garment shrinks after you have sewn it to fit.
Press the fabric, not just the creases
A fold line left in the fabric becomes a permanent mark once cut and sewn. Press the whole length.
Identify the right side, the selvedge and the grainline
The selvedge tells you the lengthwise grain. Everything else is measured from it.
Check the pattern pieces for seam allowance
Commercial patterns usually include 5/8 inch. Many downloadable patterns do not, or use 3/8 inch. Add it when you cut if it is not included.
Match the print or plaid at the seam lines before cutting
optional
This is what the extra fabric in the yardage estimate is for. Mark the match points on the pattern pieces.
Lay every piece out on the fabric before cutting any of it
It is the only way to know everything fits. Discovering the last piece does not fit after cutting the rest is an expensive lesson.
Check the nap or pile direction on every piece
optional
Velvet, corduroy, fleece and brushed cotton all look different depending on direction. Cut every piece the same way.
Use pattern weights or pins, and cut accurately
optional
A wobbly cut is a permanent quarter inch error on every piece that touches it.
Transfer every mark before unpinning
Notches, dart points, buttonholes and grainline arrows. Once the pattern is off, the marks are the only reference you have.
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