EPP Basics: Fussy Cutting

I love fussy cutting. I love it so much. You can showcase cute prints, or make cool geometric designs, the world is your fussy cutting oyster.

This blog post is just about fussy cutting, supplies are talked about in this blog post.

Object Fussy Cutting

Object fussy cutting is pretty straight forward. You basically place the template over the design you want and cut around it. There are a few things that are helpful to keep in mind though:

Remember that the inner hexagon is what is visible once you baste the hexagon
- ex. part of the popcorn will be visible and the very edge of the hotdog will be too
Remember that for directionalities sake it matters if the ‘bottom’ is a flat side or a corner. I pretty much always use a flat side as the bottom because that makes sense as the bottom (i.e. hexie flower)
Make sure you are centering vertically and horizontally
- Looking at the space between the edge of the object in the fabric relative to the side corners of the hexagon is the easiest way to eyeball this

Geometric Fussy Cutting

Geometric designs have so many options for fussy cutting. I am using two versions of the same print (one in pink and one in blue) below. By fussy cutting different sections of the design you can end up with a completely different look.

The Blue One

For this one I focused on a citrus peel design. I lined up two opposite points of the hexagon with the points of the citrus peel. I cut all six hexagons like this. Then I rotated the design for the flower.

The Pink One

For this one I focused on where the citrus peels meet. Knowing if I did this, the sides would line up on the hexagons and create a cool visual effect for the hexie flower I am using them for.

Fussy Cutting Trick

Sometimes when you are cutting geometric designs, you have to cut each block exactly the same for the overall design to line up the way you want. Otherwise, the lines are off on the final design and it doesn’t give the same striking final result.

There is a trick you can use to increase accuracy of fussy cutting the exact motif multiple times. You line the template up where you think it should be, then you lay a previously cut hexagon perfectly on top of the template. If all the points in the fabric line up perfectly with the cut hexagon, then you have the template in the right place and are good to cut.