Hi, my name is John Bregan, and it is truly an honor to present this introductory video
on the Opal Rotary Cutting System.
You will soon see that this is a complete set of precision tools that will change the
way you sew forever.
The Opal Rotary Cutting System has everything you need to make the time-consuming, tiresome
process of pinning and cutting with scissors a distant memory.
It's also an honor to work with someone who loves to sew as much as Joyce Larner.
Joyce has already been an inspiration to thousands of sewers all over the country through her
seminars on sewing in today's busy world.
And the Opal Rotary Cutting System is the foundation of her time-saving techniques.
That's right, John.
I do love to sew.
It's a very vital part of my life.
But if you took away my rotary cutter, I'd have to quit.
Let's get started.
First, find a flat surface for the self-healing Opal Cutting Mat.
A table like this is nice, although my sister just lays it out on her living room carpet.
The important thing is that the mat should always be in place when using the rotary cutter.
The Opal Rotary Cutter has a specially processed sharpened blade that will cut through multiple
layers of the toughest denim with ease.
It will also cut into your table or counter if not used with the mat.
It takes material of incredible durability to resist the blade of this precision cutter.
But the Opal Mat is up to the task.
If always used together, both will continue to make cutting out easy for years to come.
Notice how perfectly balanced the Opal Cutter feels in your hand.
If you use the right technique, it's amazing how easy it is.
First, you'll need to retract the blade guard by pulling down here with your thumb.
You should get into the habit of pushing the guard back over the blade every time you finish
cutting and simply pull it back before starting to cut again.
To use the cutter, hold it about this angle and place your index finger on the gridded
area right here.
You don't have to press too hard, but make sure you are pressing straight down to the
mat.
To direct the force straight down, you'll find you'll press a little bit more with your
finger than with the palm of your hand.
And start your cut a little bit ahead of the fabric so that you catch the front edge and
finish a little bit past the back edge.
Now you can cut with either hand, with the cutter turned either way.
I like to turn it this way so that I can operate the blade guard with my thumb.
Now it takes less pressure to cut through fabric like Trico, but you'll be amazed how
easy it is to cut through multiple layers of denim like this.
And yet, look at the surface of the mat where I just cut.
I don't know what Opal makes this mat out of, but their patented process is nothing
short of incredible.
A blade tough enough to cut through multiple layers of denim and hardly a mark on the mat.
In fact, the only limit to how many layers you can cut is the thickness of the blade.
Even if you want to cut something as thick as this fake fur, you can simply compress
the fabric with the Oliparooler and look how easy it cuts through all that.
Next, we'll take a look at cutting out a basic pattern.
When I ask sewers about their least favorite part of sewing, the most common response is
that they love to sew, the hard part is getting everything cut out.
Who can blame them?
By the time you painstakingly pin the pattern to the fabric and then squeeze the scissors
a few hundred times, you're too tired to sew.
Right now, Joyce is going to show you how to cut out an entire shirt with less than
ten strokes of the Opal rotary cutter.
To effectively work with pattern pieces, the secret is to use O weights.
O weights have tacks in the bottom and are just the right weight so that your pattern
will be held securely to your fabric without the tacks penetrating the mat.
Now you can cut the pattern piece out first.
You just drop a few weights around like Joyce is doing here.
Then follow the lines with the cutter and in seconds your pattern piece is ready.
This is when you will really appreciate having the rotary cutting system organizer.
As you can see, you can cut things out so quickly that you could easily bury one of
the weights or the cutter under the excess paper or fabric.
There's nothing worse than to be in the middle of a project and you can't find your
cutter or one of the weights.
So you notice that every time Joyce is done with the cutter or one of the weights, it
goes right back on the organizer.
It keeps everything right at your fingertips and it holds the cutter at the perfect angle
ready to go into action again.
Now next, you need to lay your fabric on the mat and place the pattern piece on top.
Joyce, how do you decide exactly how to fold the material and where to lay the pattern
piece?
Well, as you mentioned earlier, cutting out is not our favorite thing to do.
The more shortcuts I can find, the better I like it.
And I found out some interesting things as I was working with patterns.
Many times the front and the back are exactly the same.
So it didn't make a lot of sense to me to cut out both the front and the back if I could
do it in one easy step.
So by using just the back piece, we'll fold the fabric so that it's double.
We have two thicknesses here.
We'll fold it over again.
Okay.
So you've got a total of four layers then.
Right.
Lay the pattern on with the fold on the edge, position the weights, and we're ready to cut
front and back all in one step.
Great.
So these are each half of the, this is half of the back and this is half of the sleeve.
Right.
Okay.
So what would happen if the pattern pieces were bigger than the mat?
How would you get around that?
That's the beauty of the tacks and the weights because you can just slide it down so that
you've got whatever piece you're cutting right on your mat at the appropriate time.
Because they don't go into the mat.
Everything can just slide right along.
Right.
But it does hold the pattern secure.
I see.
Did you count the strokes, John?
There you go.
With less than 10 strokes, Joyce has an entire t-shirt cut out and it's ready to be sewn
together.
Wasn't that amazing with just 10 strokes of the Opal rotary cutter, you have all the pieces
of the t-shirt ready to be sewn together.
Now you could simply hem the bottom sleeves and neck edge of the shirt, but I know you
usually add ribbing, Joyce.
That's right, John.
I love to use ribbing, but I used to hate to cut it out.
Well, who can blame you?
And in fact, you know, you've shown me what it was like when you use scissors and pins
to cut the ribbing out.
Well, the patterns would always ask for a strip 10 inches long, three inches wide or
six inches wide, 13 inches long.
And you had a piece that looked a little bit like this.
Ah, wasted a lot of ribbing there, huh?
Well, yes.
And now what I have are some nice little bags full of what I haven't used to cut in nice
straight strips.
Thank you to my rotary cutting system.
Well, let's see how you do that.
Now you'll notice how the Olipa ruler is transparent and marked off with one inch lines and quarter
inch subdivisions.
See how they are a perfect match with the grids on the mat?
This allows you to cut out any width of fabric with precision you never dreamed possible with
pins and scissors.
I can see why you used to hate working with ribbing.
There's just no way you could cut that much ribbing perfectly with a pair of scissors.
Even if your hand didn't give out from squeezing the scissors, you couldn't possibly cut right
along a straight edge with a pair of scissors.
But the Olipa ruler is specially designed so that the Olpa cutter can glide right along
the edge of the ruler, making perfectly straight edges this easy.
You know, another great thing about the Olipa ruler is its patented lip edge.
See how Joyce can slide the ruler's lip edge right up to the edge of the Olpa mat and use
it like a T-square?
Professional results have never been easier.
You know, Joyce, nowhere do you need more perfectly straight edges than when you're
making quilting or wearable art.
That's right, John.
As a matter of fact, I wonder how people even quilted before they had the rotary cutting
system.
You know, we've already seen how fantastic the system is for cutting straight edges like
ribbing in the last chapter.
But now, Joyce is going to show us how easy it is to cut any angle for beautiful work
like this.
It's amazing how the Olpa rotary cutting system can set your creativity free.
Now, without all the hassles of trying to work with pins and scissors, you're free to
create beautiful work like this.
The Olpa rotary cutting system is responsible for somewhat of a renaissance of the time-honored
art of quilting.
No longer burdened with the need for individual templates, everything you see here can be
achieved with the Olpa rotary cutting system quicker and easier than you ever dreamed possible.
Thank you so much.
Notice how the opa mat is gridded into 1 inch squares as well as having quarter inch subdivisions
around all four edges.
It also has 45 degree angle lines in three different places running in two different
directions.
The ellipra ruler is also divided by 1 inch lines with quarter inch subdivisions.
It also has metric measurements on one side and a 5 eighths inch line for that common
seam allowance.
It also has 45 degree angle lines as well as 60 degree angle lines and to have them
run the other direction you can simply turn the ruler over.
Now some quilts call for only a series of straight edges.
As you can see Joyce can cut any width of straight edge she needs using the transparent
ellipra ruler and the grids on the opa mat.
Sewing requires some of the most precise cutting in all of sewing and the patented lip edge
on the ellipra ruler allows you to use it just like a t square for incredible stability
when making those precise cuts.
For a width of less than 5 inches she simply lays the ruler over the edge of the fabric
lining up the grid on the ruler for the width she wants with the edge of the fabric.
To get widths over 5 inches she simply lines the fabric up with the grids on the mat and
then lines the ruler up with the grid she wants to cut on and with one stroke of the
opa rotary cutter she has a perfectly straight edge the exact width she needs.
Now if she needs to cut those strips into squares she can simply stack them up as thick
as the blade on the cutter will allow and using the grids on the mat and the ruler cut
dozens of quilt squares with each stroke of the opa rotary cutter.
Just imagine how long this would take with pins and scissors and do you think you could
get them all this perfectly straight?
You know Joyce some of my favorite quilts use angles like this.
In fact I know that quilters used to use all sorts of templates along with their pins and
scissors to achieve a design like this.
That's why I didn't do much quilting John.
You know I have a funny feeling that that's changed since you have the opa rotary cutting
system.
So how do you get the different angles that you use in a pattern like that?
Well the ellipso ruler makes it very easy because you have all the angles right here
on your template.
By lining that up you can get actually a 45 or a 60 degree angle just by placing it in
this position.
I see so you're lining up the angle line on the ruler with the edge of the fabric and
then when you cut you have that exact angle.
And then once you get the angle then because the ruler is gridded then you can just line
that up and get exact cuts all the way across.
Oh I see so you go back and get the exact widths you've got all the angle pieces and
you're ready to put it together.
Right.
Boy that is great.
I know that's the fun part.
I know how much trouble it was to cut it out before and piecing it together was actually
the fun part.
Once again you've got an easy way to do it.
In fact you know you'd have to be a real glutton for punishment not to use the Ofa rotary cutting
system for all your quilting and wearable arts.
You know Joyce I have always been amazed at all the beautiful crafts decorating your home.
Well why do I have a feeling that the Ofa rotary cutting system is a large part of those
beautiful decorations.
I don't know John you must be psychic.
You know a lot of these craft projects require some very precise cuts.
For example these wall hangings have a piece of fabric that goes all the way around the
edge and is tightly gathered.
That means that you need a long narrow and very straight strip of fabric to work with.
Now you've already seen how easy it is to cut a straight edge.
Now Joyce is going to show us how to do the same thing over multiple layers of fabric.
The great thing about using the Ofa rotary cutting system for this is that you won't
wear your hand out using scissors.
You can fold the fabric and cut any length you need with one stroke of the Ofa cutter
simply by folding the fabric up to fit on the mat.
Even if you had a super sharp pair of scissors could you imagine folding up about ten layers
of fabric pinning it together and then picking it up and trying to chomp through it with
a pair of scissors without shifting any of the layers of fabric.
Sounds like a nightmare to me.
Because you can cut with the fabric flat on the mat the only thing you need to worry about
using the Ofa system is that you get the fabric aligned right the first time.
Then simply use the grids on the Ofa mat and the lip for ruler to get the width you want
and run the cutter along the edge of the ruler.
The only thing that can go wrong is if the fabric is folded crooked.
What happens then is that everywhere there is a fold you end up with a point on your
finished strip.
The way to avoid that is to make sure that your fabric is folded straight and then with
the perpendicular lines that you find on the lip for ruler you just need to line those
up making sure that that and that.
Oh so you have a right angle between the two lines so you make sure that's perfectly square.
And you'll never have pointed ruffles.
That's great.
Now let's take a look at some of the more intricate detail work on some of these craft
projects.
Ofa and Olipva also manufacture some of the finest specialty items available to sewers
and craft makers of all types.
One that I'm particularly excited about is the new technique knife.
Instead of the standard straight edge blade this new patented cutter has a curved blade
that makes it perfect for cutting the most intricate details on fabric.
The problem with the standard straight edge blade is that they tend to push the fabric
ahead of the blade as you cut making it extremely difficult to make precision cuts for things
like applique.
I think this is one accessory that every sewer will want.
Just think of all the beautiful embellishments you could add to your homemade clothes and
crafts.
And when the blade gets dull you can even turn it over and use the other side.
They've thought of everything.
Another new cutter from Olipva is the wave cutter with the optional perforation blade.
Just look at the decorative edge you can put on everything from paper to felt, leather
and vinyl.
By simply removing the wave blade and replacing it with the perforation blade you can perforate
anything in seconds.
What a great idea.
You know Joyce you've already shown us so many ways to save time and get more professional
results with the Olipva rotary cutting system.
You know I don't mean just a little bit of time.
You know in fact it seems to me like you can do things with a few strokes of the Olipva
rotary cutter that would take literally hundreds of tiresome snips with a pair of scissors.
I can't even imagine going back to scissors and pins John.
To make me do that would be like sending me to the grocery store on a horse.
That's a pretty good analogy Joyce.
You know I'm also amazed how you can just drop a few oil weights on your project and
eliminate the need to painstakingly pin everything together.
And how did you ever get such nice clean straight edges without the Olipva mat cutter and Olipva
ruler?
You didn't.
No matter how hard you worked at pinning everything when you picked up the fabric it had a chance
to shift.
You just didn't get straight cuts.
Yeah I can see how that would happen.
You know but with the Olipva rotary cutting system everything lays flat on the mat while
you cut it out so there's virtually no chance of having anything shift on you.
And the organizer completes the system keeping everything right at your fingertips.
And now is if you haven't shown us how to save enough time.
With six children and today's hectic lifestyle I can never save enough time.
Well now you're going to show us how to cut out several patterns at the same time.
I guess that comes in handy trying to sew for six.
And four and a half grandchildren.
Okay.
Because using the rotary system you can actually stack layers of fabric one on top of the other
and when you're getting ready for a new grandchild and you want several of the same size garment
you can actually cut out two garments at the same time using the rotary cutting system.
Is that how many you're cutting out here.
Now you're using the same half of the pattern here and the same technique as we saw earlier
but now you've got eight layers of fabric.
That's right and so I'm actually cutting out two garments all at the same time.
That's great.
You know Joyce Opa was the inventor of the rotary cutter.
In fact Opa is the only company that makes both the cutting mat and the rotary cutter
itself so they are designed to work together.
There is simply no finer quality mat or cutter available anywhere at any price.
That's right John.
I've occasionally had people using other products in my classes and there just isn't any other
mat or cutter that's as easy to use and will last longer than the Opa rotary system.
You know we have both seen how other cutting mats get scarred with every single stroke
of the cutter and how cutting even a single layer of denim can be a struggle with an inferior
type of a cutter.
That really breaks my heart to see someone struggling with inferior products when I know
that the Opa system is so easy to use and because it is made of such high quality standards
it is also the best value they could possibly find.
That is so true Joyce.
You know with just a couple of simple maintenance tips the Opa rotary cutting system will provide
years of trouble free service.
First the Opa mat is made of material that is designed to be impervious to the Opa cutter.
The one thing that can damage the mat is heat so you won't want to leave your mat in direct
sunlight or in the trunk of your car on a hot summer day.
You should also avoid keeping it near any type of heater and it is a good idea to always
store it flat so that it won't develop a curve over a long period of time.
The blade on the Opa rotary cutter is easy to change but you know Joyce you've told me
that the only time you need to change it is if it develops a nick.
That's right.
As long as I cut on the Opa mat and use the Opa weights don't use pins because when you
really damage your blade is when you get the nick.
That's amazing so the thing to look out for is somehow getting a nick in the blade.
That's right and before I had the Owa weights to work with I would occasionally manage to
nick the blade by running over a pin.
You know that some companies are now selling pinnable cutting mats so I bet that would
nick a lot of blades.
Besides any mat that a pin can easily be pushed through certainly couldn't hold up to the
blade of a very good cutter for very long.
That's true but even with the best system in the world there's always a chance that
you will unexpectedly develop a nick in your blade.
Yeah and with six kids I guess you're kind of an expert on the unexpected.
Well why don't we show how to change the blade on the Opa cutter.
Good idea.
Okay so the first thing you need to do is to remove the screw on the back side of the
cutter and then you'll notice right behind there there is a little compression spring
looks a little bit like a saddle and go ahead and take that out turn the cutter over and
then you can remove the blade and the guard and pull the blade out.
Now the new blades come in a packet like this put that out put the blade on top of the guard
make sure that the little lever on the guard is still pointing out put the top piece back
in then when you put the compression spring back in make sure that the saddle goes down
and then when you put the other screw that holds that on you want to make sure that the
indentation on one side of that again goes down towards the spring and then you can adjust
that for so you have a nice feel when you release the cutter.
Now the smart thing to do with the old blade is to put it back into the package because
it still is very sharp even if it has developed a neck and that makes a convenient way to
throw it away.
No no don't throw it away.
Why is that?
Because you can use a blade that's not sharp enough to cut fabric to do wildpapering cut
carpet paper lots my children have found lots and lots of things to do with the rotary cutter.
That's a great idea.
Okay now the organizer and the Olypfor ruler really require no special maintenance and the
only thing you need to be aware of with the O weights is that there are sharp points on
the bottom both the organizer and the O weights themselves are designed so that when you store
them the sharp points will not touch anything so not only does that keep them right at your
fingertips but it also keeps the points from scratching anything.
The O for rotary cutting system is the only complete rotary cutting system that can handle
all of your cutting needs whether you are a quilter, sewer, craft maker or a little bit
of all three.
There is nothing that will save you more time and give you more professional results than
the complete O for rotary cutting system.
If you work with materials like leather, wood, mylar and other tough non-fabric materials
you'll need the toughness of the original O for art knife.
For carving, etching, scraping, trimming and any craft or hobby that requires a tough cutter
this is the one.
In fact, one of my brothers is into making and flying radio controlled airplanes and
he could simply not get along without his O for art knife.
O for also makes a multi-purpose cutter that never leaves you with a dull blade.
It comes with 36 blades and can hold up to 12 at one time.
If you are in the middle of a project and your blade gets a little dull simply pull
off the yellow end and use it to snap off the old blade, push here and you have a fresh
blade.
One of my personal favorites is the O for touch knife.
This is so handy.
The blade is spring loaded so that when you retract it it stays out of the way and it
is just so handy to be able to grab it, push the blade out, cut a page out of a magazine
or whatever and then simply retract the blade.
The one word to describe this handy tool is convenient.
Olipa makes specialty rulers that if you quilt or craft will make your job so much easier.
The Olipa 45 and 60 degree mini rulers are truly a quilters best friend.
If you are constantly using 45 and 60 degree angles in your quilting or craft making then
I am sure you can imagine how handy it would be to have one ruler with that precise angle
built right in.
There is nothing more frustrating than cutting out those angles and then piecing them together
only to find out that you are a little bit off and they just won't go together right.
With these new Olipa rulers you will always get perfect results quickly and easily.
Another great tool for quilters and craft makers from Olipa is the new 6 and a half inch square.
It has eighth inch, quarter inch and half inch markings as well as 45 and 60 degree
bias lines all in one square.
This is one tool every quilter should not be without.
It allows you to cut out perfect squares or rectangles every time.
Olipa also makes this handy adjustable guide arm.
It attaches directly to the Olipa cutter and can be adjusted to any width from 5 to 80
millimeters.
It is the perfect attachment when you are trying to resize a curved edge and the ruler
won't do.
It is also great for adding seam allowance to a pattern that doesn't already include
it.
The cutter Joyce uses is the model RTY-2 but Olipa also makes a smaller version called
the RTY-1.
Replacement blades are available for all Olipa products shown here are the replacement blades
for the large cutter in both the single and multiple 10 pack.
We hope you have enjoyed this instructional video from Olipa.
We are dedicated to bringing new innovative products to the world of sewing and we hope
the tools and techniques we have shown here will help you to express your own individual
creativity without spending all of your time cutting out.
Thanks for watching.