Now that your panels are quilted, it’s time to cut out your bag pieces. Most quilted bag patterns are “measure and cut,” meaning you’ll be given dimensions and will need to measure and cut each piece yourself. Using a rotary cutter and ruler will help you get clean, straight edges.
Some patterns include templates or pattern pieces that you can place directly onto your quilted panel and cut around. If you’re working with measurements, a large square ruler can make cutting bigger pieces a bit easier, though a long rectangular ruler works just as well. Your pattern should also include a layout diagram to guide you in cutting everything from your quilted panel.
Don’t forget to cut any additional, non-quilted pieces too—like pockets or binding. Most quilted bag patterns use straight grain binding rather than bias, which is a bit simpler to work with. For binding, it’s often easiest to cut strips width of fabric first, then trim them down to the required size. A Creative Grids Stripology ruler can speed things up, but a standard quilting ruler will do the job just fine.
It’s a good idea to label all of your cut pieces so you can easily identify them during assembly. This is especially helpful with “measure and cut” patterns, where there aren’t printed pattern pieces to keep with each cut piece.
Watch the video below to see the process of cutting out your pieces.