How To Cut On The Diagonal Once Or Twice

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Hey Everyone, welcome back to Technique Tuesday.

Last week when Michael was proof reading my blog post for the Granny’s Choice block he wasn’t quite sure what it meant to cut on the diagonal twice. After explaining to him what it meant I thought I wonder how many other new quilters have no idea what this means.

Often times in the cutting instruction there will be instructions to cut a square and then cut on the diagonal once or twice. Once it is explained to you the first time the concept is very simple but until then one can be left wondering what the instructions mean.

Cut On the Diagonal Once

To start I have cut a 6 inch square. The square needs to be cut on the diagonal once. This means that it needs to be cut from one corner across to the other corner to create two triangles of equal proportions.

It is fine to draw a line across and then line up the ruler on the line and cut. Using a chaco liner works well and is my favourite marking tool.

The other option is to just line up the ruler from one corner to the other ensuring that the ruler is lined up exactly.  Once the ruler is in place then cut. I like to use a wide ruler to hold down the square that is being cut so that it doesn’t accidentally move.

Cut On the Diagonal Twice

Once again I have started with a 6 inch square.  This time the square needs to be cut on the diagonal twice.  This means that the square is cut from one corner across to the other corner.  That was the first cut.  The second cut is made from the intact corner across to the other intact corner. These two cuts will result in 4 triangles of equal proportions.

It is very important that the square is not disturbed and no pieces out of alignment after the first cut otherwise the triangles will not be equal with the second cut. Turning the cutting mat around so the square is in position for cutting is the best way to make sure nothing is disturbed.

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Drawing lines across is a good idea if you are not sure that the ruler or pieces will stay in place. This time draw two lines that make an ‘X’.  Place the ruler on the line and cut, then, without disturbing the pieces, place the ruler on the other line and cut.

If just using the ruler make sure it is lined up evenly with the corners.

Remember that all these triangles have been cut on the bias so try not to handle too much as they will stretch out of shape very quickly.

And there you have it – the skinny on what cut on the diagonal twice means!

[Editor’s Note: I’m still not sure what “cut on the bias” and “sewing on the bias” means so I’ve asked Jen to write about that too, in an upcoming post.]

Happy Quilting!

You might think that using diagonal cutters, wire and chain cutters is a no brainer, but there is actually some common sense to apply that goes a long way when using such a tool. For starters, it’s obviously a good idea to keep any part of a living thing away from the business end of the tool, but a more nuanced assessment should clue you in to the fact that even using the tool safely and for the intended purpose you can have problems. Used improperly to cut the wrong gauge wire or something it was not designed to cut you can break the tool and/or cause injury to yourself. So make sure you’ve chosen the right tool for the job, wear your safety glasses and use the tool properly.

This guide does a great job of summarizing the basic use of your basic diagonal, wire or other cutters. Of course you open the jaws, put the thing to cut in the back of the jaws and squeeze the handles together. Done. The thing is cut. If you have a softer piece of metal you can cut closer to the tips. Unfortunately, no matter how good the tool is, misusing it can lead to the tools breaking, and we’ll take a quick look at what this can look like.

A good example is this cutter with a broken tip. This specific tool is made of C70 tool steel and designed to cut copper, hard piano wire, nails, screws, bolts, chains and more. So why did this tool which is designed to cut such tough stuff get a broken tip? Because as the aforementioned cutting guide points out, while this tool can be used to cut nails, a nail should be cut towards the back of the jaws, not the tip. When cutting hard or tough metals, the back of the jaws has more metal and support and a greater amount of pressure to get through the metal, whereas the tip is reserved for thinner or softer metals like copper wire. An excellent demonstration of the proper use of the tools can be found here with a demonstration of the Wiha 32636 cutting a nail properly. This is an excellent version of the cutting tool as it features a push button that increases the power of your cut while also reducing the amount of pressure needed. In short, don’t use the tip to cut if it’s something that’s going to be hard to cut.

Here at Haus of Tools we often stress that buying quality tools is the key to success on the job. That’s really only half of the story. The other half is using said tool properly. By misusing a tool, even a good quality tool, you not only run the risk of damaging and destroying your tool, you can also run the risk of injury because when tools break pieces of it can injure you or others. By selecting a quality tool and using it correctly you’ll be practically ensured of success on the job or around the house.

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