I Finally Cut Into My Liberty Fabric… Was It Worth It?

I almost didn’t cut into this fabric. It was so expensive, and so beautiful and truthfully so special that it could have sat on a shelf collecting dust.

Instead, I got brave through sweaty hands and finally cut into this fabric and made the first block of the Alice’s Wonderland quilt.

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The Part That Made Me Hesitate

There’s something about working with a more expensive or “special” fabric that makes every decision feel a lot scarier.

What if I cut it wrong?
What if I waste it?
What if I make one block and never finish the quilt?

But fabric isn’t meant to sit on a shelf, now is it?

The First Block (and what actually helped)

Thankfully, Block 1 in the Alice’s Wonderland quilt a very straight forward block.

And before I began, I made two small adjustments based on advice I’d heard:

• I used a slightly shorter stitch length
• I used starch (I used Best Press)

And when I finished? The block measured exactly 6.5″—which, if you quilt, you know is a small but very satisfying win.

The Fabric (and why it’s different)

If you’ve never used Tana Lawn Liberty fabric before, the biggest difference is the feel (and its price $$$).

It’s lightweight, smooth, and has a really tight weave—which makes it behave a little differently than standard quilting cotton.

That can feel intimidating at first, but it also gives your finished blocks a really refined look.

Check out all of the Tana Lawn Cotton fabrics here: Tana Lawn Cotton Fabrics | Liberty USA

Interested in this quilt? Here are the book and fabric I bought!

What Helped Me Not Ruin It

If you’re nervous about cutting into your “good” fabric, this is what I’d recommend:

• Start with a simple block
• Use the shorter stitch length
• Use starch to give yourself more control

I used Best Press for this, and it made a noticeable difference in how the fabric handled.

This is the Best Press I buy – I buy it in a larger size and I like the unscented:

Watch the Fabric Up Close

If you want to see the fabric before it was cut (and get a better sense of the prints and colors), I filmed an unboxing here: