will you talk to me about rotary cutters please!

[MrsMiamla]

hello, i'm wanting to buy a rotary cutter but i have no idea where to start! they seem to vary so much in price, so, do you have one? what make it is? do you like it?
thanks in advance!

thank you!

I have 2 rotary cutters - the bog standard Olfa ones. (The posh ones didn't exist when I got mine!) I have a 45mm one and also the 28mm. The small one is better for complicated curves etc.. Just be careful not to go over any metal rulers or pins as you will soon blunt the blades.

They are great for cutting out as you don't have to lift the fabric up the way you do with scissors, so you can keep the pattern and fabric together better. They are fantastic for long straight lines. In fact for dressmaking patterns you just have to weight the pattern at corners etc. instead of using pins, giving a more accurate result.

Make sure you get a large cutting mat, so you don't have to keep sliding it around to get it under the bit of the fabric you are cutting.

thanks purplefrog! i've actually got a mat already (christmas present from inlaws!) Hmm, it does sound like a rotary cutter is exactly what I need. Looks like i've got an excuse to have a wander round John Lewis next week

I love my ratary cutter, I do patchwork and im always using it. I have a bog standard olfa, 45mm blade no safety features. I quite like the squeeze handle one though....

When the blades get blunt, I paint them with a dab or two of nail varnish and use the blades to cut paper.