Until your hand gets stronger maybe try paper piecing. That is what I've had to do this last year and a half.
that way you don't have to cut so much out with the ruler.
Thanks for the other tips on this too ladies. Going to look for the tape stuff for sure to keep the ruker more study.

Also, it helps to always use the same ruler . I have many rulers and sometimes just grab the handiest. That is a no-no as they are not always the same.

Thank you all...I think too that I need to get me a smaller size Rotary Cutter too and a Ergonomic one at that. Right now I'm using a Olfa one and actually it's too big for me. I need to get me a smaller one.

That might help too.

Thanks for all of these wonderful tips and info.

To prevent having a story about stitches, I just purchased a set of those gripper handles for my rulers. They were about $25.00, but thought that was cheap when thinking about the cost to the ER. I also think they will help keep a ruler from slipping.

I had not thought about handles, b/c I don't use them, but I agree, they may help. The Martelli ergonomic cutters are good too, but I find them a bit dangerous. I won't let anyone around here use them except me and i am super careful with it. No matter what cutter you use, a sharp blade is imperative if you have any physical issues to deal with. I personally like the rotary cutters which have the squeeze bar in the handle to make the blade exposed. They are ergonimically correct and I feel they are the safest to use. Just MHO, everyone has their preferences!

Beginnerquilter:
All the suggestions offered are good... also... take your time. With rotary cutters and rulers... we think we can cut fast... but think of cutting out your fabric like you are driving down an icy road... slow but sure... hold on to your ruler tightly and make sure you have a sharp blade. I never cut more than 4 layers at once.

Also.. for on the inch and half inch cuts... I sometimes prefer to use my June Taylor strip cutter... it forces your cutting blade into a slot and you cannot miss. Google her website...there are lots of different sizes.
:mrgreen: :lol:

I am going to suggest a Fiskars 24" rolling ruler.
Hang on as I am going to check to see if they have any
left on Amazon.com. Yup - tho just a few.

It is called the Fiskars rolling ruler. Let me explain. It has a ruler on the left and then a metal guide. The rotary cutter
slides up and down along the guide and is covered with a cuff.
The result is that all you do when you have your fabric placed
correctly is push down slightly and the cutter moves as you
move your hand which is cupped over cuff. This would move
a great deal of the pressure from wrist to hand. The palm to
be exact.

Also, this ruler has a sticky soft rubber under the glide to keep
it in place, which does not mean you don't have to hold it in
place but it is way easier.

Read the reviews, but quickly, I am sorry to report that Fiskars is not making this ruler anymore and Amazon and one quilt shop have a few left. The best product ever w/no advertising!

I have two now as in trying to find one for a holiday gift I found they were no longer made. This is the most innovative quilting tool ever made. They now produce a little tiny one by Debra but is not, not the same at all.

The Fiskars rolling ruler is $60.00, a big investment for sure but
let me give an example. My quilt group was doing Grandmothers Dream quilt. We had to cut 32 strips wof or width of fabric of 8 fabrics. I did mine in less than 2 hours with
breaks to do laundry and sit down. The gals w/o this ruler took two or three days and all had sore hands.

I haven't used my other big rulers since I bought this one. I would highly, highly recommend this to anyone but especially to anyone who has difficulty cutting.

There are not many left and I believe the shipping is free.
Hope this helps you on the road to quilting. Oh, in Australia, they are $110.00 and the same in Europe.

Thank you...

:)

i see that fiskars is making the same ruler (I think!) in a 12" size, and it is under the name of donna dewberry. It should accomplish the same thing, but you will have to fold your fabric one time to get it into the 12" space. The advantage of this size would be portability and easy storage.

I also love my June Taylor shape cut ruler and think it is amazing, and fast, and accurate. however, I think you do need some basic rotary cutting skills before using it, as it has a very slight learning curve. I start quilters out using it, rather than a 6" x 24", but I am right there guiding them as they learn.

There are so many wonderful suggestions here. Please let us know if you use any of them and how they help you.

Okay thanks

:)

I am really glad you said that about the new small ruler
which I have not used. The big 24" would not be useful in cutting small pieces, rather breaking up width of fabric into 3 inch strips which then can be cut into 3'' squares with perhaps the new"baby" size.

I haven't seen them working or figured out why they have some pieces that extend.

My apologies, I should have said 24 inch rolling ruler is for
initial cuts into strips and segments.

I think you might like the Donna Dewberry cutting board for strips. It's like a paper cutting board. I don't see any reason you couldn't use it by cutting 3" strips first and then cutting the strip into the 3" block you want. The board is a little expensive but if you have a JoAnns you could use a coupon or wait for it to go on sale.

Thank you

:)

what I do to keep my squares squared is I tape and hot glue both ends of a 12 inch metal ruler to the middle of my cutting board fallowing the grid lines. Then measure from the back side of the ruler the size of the quilt square and tape a 2 inch strip of heavy cardboard fallowing the grid lines. To use this quilting jig: slip the strip of fabric under the metal ruler and line the edge up with the card board strip then press down in the center of the metal ruler and cut the square. It is kind of like using a paper cutter. I also made a jig like this for cuting triangles.

I use InvisiGrip on the back of my rulers and love it!
You can buy it at most quilt shops and Joann's. It comes in a roll and you cut to size. Great stuff.

OK, someone may have had this suggestion already, but I didn't read all 4 pages of comments. One idea that was given to us at a workshop with Pat Speth was to use the rubbery shelf-liner or drawer-liner that you can get in the cooking section of your local "walmart". Just cut little pieces off the roll and it works great. I have also seen suction devices that you can attach to a small ruler that gives you a place to grip it. That might be easier for you too.

Thank you...I'm going to get some of that shelf liner the next time I go to Walmart. That will be the cheaper/best way to go. Thanks for that tip/idea.

:)

I didn't see an answer, so I'm responding. It's called Hugo's Amazing Tape. If you google it, you can find someplace to order it from. Can't remember where I got mine, but I bought a roll about 2" wide & cut it in strips. You can use it for all sorts of things because it sticks to itself. It's a little pricey, but can be used over and over and over.