I'm actually going to back up a little now that I have got everyone started sewing their first block. For those not in my class, I cut the 4 1/2 inch squares out for my students but in this post I am going to back up a little and explain two ways of cutting blocks. In my humble opinion one is slightly faster than the other but not by much. When I first began I would sit in front of the TV with a TV tray and mark my squares to cut out of old clothes, sheets etc. My examples here are using a scrap of fabric I found in the remnant bin at JoAnn's fabric & craft store.
As I previously explained, you have a choice to pre-wash or not pre-wash your fabric, but I am recommending that regardless of which you choose, you iron your fabric before you start to mark and cut up your squares. Any way manufacturers fold fabric will leave at the very least a semi-centered crease or fold lines. For a larger piece of fabric it is important to be able to accurately fold fabric in half. In the picture below I took a large towel and folded it in thirds to create a makeshift ironing board on my kitchen table.
