I learned to quilt back in High School. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful sewing teacher and we had a fantastic program at my school. Over the course of the year we learned to make draperies, tailor clothes, knit and quilt.
To make my first quilt all I used was a rotary cutter and one 36" quilt ruler. In the years since then, then I've made several more quilts. I still stick with that handy and versatile 36" ruler, but have found several other rulers that I keep going back to again and again.
To keep it simple today I'll share 5 of them with you (even though I could easily list more, those little buggers are sure fun to play around with!)
Creative Grids Rulers
A long time ago I was cutting binding strips with my quilt ruler and rotary cutter. The ruler slipped and I sliced through the top of my finger. A trip to the ER and several stitches were necessary.
Ever since then I've been super careful when using my rotary cutter. I always wear a protective glove and have discovered 'non-slip' rulers. My favorites are the Creative Grid brand. They don't slip and come it lots of different sizes to meet your particular quilting need. My favorite one right now is the 2 1/2" x 18"
Half Hexagon Ruler
I love the look of a hexagon quilt but I don't want to stitch all of the "Y" seams that come along with making a hexagon quilt. The Hexie Half Ruler from Riley Blake Designs is designed so that you can make a hexagon quilt WITHOUT stitching any "Y" seams. You simply cut out your shapes then stitch them into rows, then stitch the rows together to get the hexagons. You can find out more information about this ruler on my website, polkadotchair.com - simply type "hexagon quilt" into the search box on the side.
Bloc Loc Rulers
One of the essential building blocks of both Traditional and Modern Quilting is the Half Square Triangle (HST). They are pretty easy to stitch and can be rearranged in a dozen different ways in a quilt. After you stitch a HST you need trim the sewn pieces into a perfect square. You can use the measurements on the cutting mat but I find that using a square ruler to be much easier. The Bloc Loc Rulers are designed with a groove down the center. The groove sits over the top of the seam in the block and keeps it from moving around while you're trimming it. It's so genius I don't know why someone didn't think of it earlier!
Triangle Square Up Ruler
The Quilt in a Day Triangle Square Up Ruler works in a similar way to the bloc loc ruler but you trim the HST before you press it open. If you are trimming a lot of HST's this ruler will save you a lot of time. It also has measurements every half inch so it can accommodate a large variety of HST sizes.
Dresden Ruler
Oh how I love Dresden Plates!! They are one of my absolute favorite quilt blocks to sew. The Easy Dresden Ruler makes stitching them up a breeze. The ruler comes with full instructions including measurements to help you plan the finished size of your Dresden Plates.
Tell me, what did I miss? Share in the comments section!
credits to: ebay.com
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