Arrange your cutting table so you can move around it to get at the pattern from all angles. If your cutting surface is not this accessible, cut groups of pattern pieces apart from the rest of the fabric so you can turn these smaller pieces around.
Accuracy is important, since a mistake in cutting cannot always be corrected. Before cutting, double check placement of pattern pieces and alterations. Before cutting plaids, one-way designs or directional fabrics, make sure the fabric is folded and laid out correctly. Basting tape (page 30) may be helpful to keep fabric from shifting. Heavy or bulky fabric can be cut more accurately one layer at a time. Slippery fabric is easier to cut if you cover the table with a sheet, blanket or other nonslip material.
Choose sharp, plain or serrated blade, bent-handled shears, 7" or 8" (18 or 20.5 cm) in length. Take long, firm strokes, cutting directly on the dark cutting line. Use shorter strokes for curved areas. Keep one hand on the pattern near the cutting line to prevent the pattern from shifting and to provide better control.
The rotary cutter (page 28) is especially useful for cutting leather, slippery fabrics or several layers of fabric. The rotary cutter can be used by either right or left-handed sewers. Use a cutting mat to protect the cutting surface.
Notches can be cut outward from the notch markings, or with short snips into the seam allowance (page 83). Be careful not to snip beyond the seamline. Use snips to mark the foldlines and stitching lines of darts and pleats, and the center front and center back lines at the top and bottom. Mark the top of the sleeve cap above the large dot on the pattern with a snip. On bulky or loosely woven fabric where snips cannot be easily seen, cut pattern notches out into the margin. Cut double or triple notches as one unit, not separately.
After you finish cutting, save scraps to test stitching or pressing techniques, make trial buttonholes, or cover buttons. For accurate marking and easy identification, leave each pattern piece pinned in place until you are ready to sew that piece.
Your pattern may call for bias strips of fabric to enclose raw edges such as necklines or armholes. Ideally, these are cut from a piece of fabric long enough to fit the area to be enclosed. Bias strips may also be pieced together to form a strip of the correct length.