Best Kept Secrets: The Rotary Cutter (entry no.1)

Welcome to the first installment of Best Kept Secrets, a running list of useful and often overlooked tools for creating.

Rotary cutter

1. A tool generally used by quilters to cut fabric. It consists of a handle with a circular blade that rotates, thus the tool’s name.
2. Rotary blades can be found in different sizes: usually smaller blades are used to cut around corners, while larger blades are used to cut to straight lines.
3. Several layers of fabric can be cut simultaneously, making it easier to cut out patchwork pieces of the same shape and size than with regular scissors.

A few months ago, on a whim, I purchased a Fiskars rotary cutter from a sewing supply store in midtown Manhattan, took it home, read the instructions on the back of the packaging, and immediately started slicing through fabric.  The tool (in combo with a mat and ruler) makes perfect cuts.  It’s basically the textile version of a pizza cutter.  I find it especially useful for cutting thin, slippery fabrics.

FYI, the Purl Bee has a great tutorial on rotary cutters.