How to Use a Rotary Cutter

How to cut a straight line on fabric using the right tools

Hey y’all, today I’m answering another of your sewing questions. This one was submitted via my question form and asked, “How do you cut straight?” So I’m going to share how to use a rotary cutter today, which, when combined with a ruler and a mat, can get you perfectly straight cuts.

On the off chance that the question was actually about how your straighten fabric to line up your pieces for cutting, I’m linking below to a post about grainline, which explains what that is and how to find it on your fabric.

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. All affiliate links are identified with (affiliate link) after the link or a commissions earned statement above the link(s).

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, in order to use a rotary cutter to cut straight fabric, you’re going to need the following tools:

• Rotary cutter (affiliate link). The one I use in this post and video is a 60mm size, which is good for larger cuts. A 45mm size (affiliate link) is kind of an all purpose size, you can use it for larger straight cuts as well as smaller curved cuts (like if you’re cutting out a garment). If you are only going to cut out garments or do a lot of swim, bra or panty sewing, you might consider a 28mm size (affiliate link) for getting into smaller curves.
• Cutting mat (affiliate link) The one I show in the post pictures and video is 12″x18″. I also have this one (affiliate link) that is 18″x24″ and this one (affiliate link) that is 5″x8″. I store these behind a bookshelf, except for the littlest one, which is on a small shelf. The mat not only protects your table from cuts, it helps the blade last longer.
• Ruler (affiliate link) this is for straight cuts. If you’re cutting a garment, you just follow the edges of your pattern with your blade.

In the video below, I show how to use a rotary cutter to cut straight. You can also watch on YouTube here if you prefer.