Strip piecing is one of the best time-saving methods in quilt-making. You sew long strips of fabrics together side by side, then, using a rotary cutter, cut the strips to create smaller units that are already pieced. A Strippy quilt is a quilt type created using Strip Piecing. Here are several fundamental tips to help you accurately piece your quilts using fabric strips. Keep your seam allowance consistent When sewing strips together, keeping your seam allowance to a quarter-inch is essential. Creating a consistently accurate seam allowance can help keep the sizes of the strippy blocks you make equal. Strip piecing is an easy and fast way to sew fabric pieces together, so there is also a great tendency to get careless about the consistency of the seam allowance. Some sewing machines have a sewing machine with a guide edge to keep your fabric strip lined up against the guide. Alternate the directions when sewing the seams When you sew fabric strips together side by side, they will begin to arc slightly if you sew them all starting at the same end. You can avoid the arching or bow of the strips by sewing the new strip where the previous strip ended. In simpler terms, you reverse the starting point for each new strip. It will also help if you measure as you go to ensure that your quilt measurements are accurate. Use pre-cut fabric strips One way to sew fabric strips fast is to use 2.5-inch pre-cut fabric strips called jelly rolls. Some pre-cut strips have a ‘pinked’ edge to avoid fraying. It would be best if you measured the width of one piece of strip per roll to make sure the width is the same as with other rolls. This way, you will use only the strips with the same width to maintain a consistent seam allowance. Cut your fabric strips You can cut your fabric strips to get accurate and consistent measurements. The first vital step that you should take is to square up the fabric edges. It is essential to follow this step to avoid having a V-shaped strip instead of a straight one. You should check at first if the selvage edge is 90 degrees to the yardage edge. Start by matching up the selvage edges. After matching the edges, you can lay your fabric on the cutting mat with the edge you will trim on the right. With a rotary cutter, cut the uneven edge off the right side of your fabric. The trimmed edge forms a right angle to the selvage edge. Now, you can start cutting fabric strips from your material. Measure your desired strip width using the ruler, not the mat, to get the most accurate measurement. Press carefully For quilts that need to sew several strips together, such as strip quilting, pressing carefully and thoroughly is essential. Doing so can increase the accuracy of getting consistent quarter-inch seam allowances. It would be even better to press the seam allowances first for them to set before sewing the strips together.