I personally don’t have an extensive collection of rulers for quilting. But I always find myself, keeping an eye out for new and useful options especially when at a quilt show. As I browse through the vendors, I find myself tempted by the latest, new, fancy one, but I have pretty good will-power! Rulers are an expensive addition to any quilters equipment. So, before I make that financial outlay I try to do what I need to do with what I already have.
So what are my essential, often used rulers then?
My collection includes a basic set of rulers that I use regularly – a long ruler and square rulers.
A 6 ½” x 241/2” long ruler is used for cutting long strips of fabric. I love this ruler because you can cut across the folded length of fabric. The 6 ½” width is enough to give me lots of options for most strip widths that I might need to cut.
I use it so much that the markings are starting to fade in places but I love this ruler.
My square rulers are essential to not only sub-cutting the strips of fabric that I cut width the 6 ½” x 24 ½” width ruler.
My favorite square rulers are my 6 ½”, 9 ½”, 12 ½” . I like these because they are the sizes of the most often used quilt blocks. These are also a must for squaring up each of blocks before including it in your quilt top or trimming units to size when needed. I have other rulers that I do not use often but they are available to me when I need them.
Most of my rulers are *Creative Grid.
I like this company because all of their rulers add the extra ½” for that seam allowance. Some companies do not add that to their rulers. But I do at times still use my Omnigrid ruler because sometimes when cutting very dark fabrics the yellow markings show up better.
When I put my list together for beginning quilting classes I always suggest to my students two basic rulers:
1. 12 ½” square ruler
2. 6 ½” x 24 ½’ ruler
These rulers allow you to do anything you need to do as a new quilter without breaking the bank. My suggestion to my students is to put other rulers or other quilting equipment on your “wish list”. Most quilt stores have wish list options, so that your loved ones know exactly what you want. Plus, if you use Amazon, they too have wish list functions.
My own recent purchase was a 24 ½” square ruler by Quilter’s Rule. I have wanted this tool for sometime but I could not find a manufacturer who had them yet. How wonderful to find that a vendor at the show had them. Guess my husband will find out he just bought me a belated mother’s day present!
(even the cat thinks it’s cool!)
A key tip: Remember to be consistent with your ruler manufacturer on any specific project as measurement markings can vary between manufacturers.
What are your favorite rulers?
