Ruler quilting
 

I'm almost completely self-taught when it comes to quilting and learned pretty much everything from the internet. Therefore please excuse my ignorance on this! :o

I just learned in another thread about ruler quilting. I had come across that term before (probably here in this forum), but have never seen a picture, so I always thought "ruler work" means someone is using a ruler to draw a line and then follows that line - most likely with a walking foot.

Now I have just learned that it is actually FMQ, using a special foot and following the ruler with that foot. I also learned that although straight lines may be quilted, it means one doesn't have to turn the quilt around. Intriguing... I have to confess that I have done that kind of quilting before with my walking foot, and all that turning around of the quilt has been a Lot of work! So I think I want to try this.

I did find the foot here: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm...d=569879026761
The vendor tells me that for my machine (Juki) I would need the one on the left (EN-01).

Now my question to the experts: Can I just use my plexiglass quilting ruler (about 3mm or ⅛" thick) or do I also need to buy a special ruler for this?

You need special rulers. They are thicker so they don't slip under the foot.

How thick are those special rulers? Instead of buying a special ruler that says "ruler quilting", would it work to use maybe a wooden board or something of that same thickness?

Some of the rulers are not straight but give a curve or a leaf shape. Look for Angela Walter's rulers. She has about 6 rulers with YouTube videos and PDF files about what you can do. It is not just straight lines.

Not only do you need special rulers, which are 1/4" thick, and a special foot, you need to make sure your machine has a ruler base. It is usually a plexiglass piece that snaps onto the neck of your machine head which gives you a rigid surface to place the ruler on. If you attempt to do ruler work without a ruler base you will not be able to hold the ruler flat for guiding the LA foot next to it. You also run the risk of damaging your LA or yourself.

Absolutely do not use your 1/8" rulers for ruler quilting. It is dangerous and scary. If the ruler slips under the foot (which it will) it can chip the ruler, throw out the timing, and possibly result in injury to an eye or a finger.

There are lots of youtube videos and classes on how to do ruler quilting on both domestic sewing machines and longarms. Craftsy has classes. I've accumulated a huge assortment of rulers of different shapes and sizes for use with my longarm. The clear plexiglass allows you to see through the ruler to the quilt, and they often have etching that helps in aligning the ruler for a more precise quilting pattern. Most rulers are 1/4" thick, but a few for the longarm are 3/8".

Sorry, I don't have a LA. I thought I could do this on my DSM?

For a DSM, do I still need a ruler base?

My dealer offers classes on the use of these rulers. I was told the average ruler just does not have the thickness (height) to stand up to this type of quilting. Hence the need for the thicker, taller foot which meets the side of the ruler. Makes sense to me.

That makes sense to me, too. But I'm wondering if instead of using a specially designated "quilting ruler" I could use something of the same thickness that is smooth enough and use that? At least for straight lines... I do understand now that there is also rulers of other shapes. My problem is, I'm not in the US and nowhere near a quilting shop and I'm on a budget... So I'm always trying to find cheaper solutions :o

Sorry, didn't realize you were working on a domestic. Usually domestic machines have base that fits around the free arm or they are in a recessed dedicated table. As long as you have a large flat surface to lay the ruler you should be good. On a budget, go to any window/glass place or home building place (like a Home Depot) they will cut 1/4" plexiglass to size for you. I would start with a smaller sized straight edge. Probably no larger than 2 1/2" x 6"

Thanks to all of you for your help on this! Lots of information for me to look up and google! But not tonight, it's getting late on my side of the world and I better go to bed now... :)

Short answer, no.

I am by no means an expert, but I did recently purchase a ruler foot of the same style as the one that you linked to and I also bought one quilting ruler to try with it and this is what I've learned from practicing on my own DSM with a 6 inch throat:

This style of foot hovers over the quilt sandwich and does not hop. On my machine, I needed to adjust the foot to be very low so that it prevented the top fabric from pulling up as the needle moved to get good stitches. This means on my machine, the foot is stationary and gliding over the sandwich, and is low enough that I can use a regular quilting ruler without any danger to my machine. Obviously, there is no guarantee that this will be the case with yours, but for mine (Janome Magnolia 7318), it works.

The quilting ruler I bought is specifically for ruler quilting. It's the Handi Quilter Versa Tool and I love that it has several different shapes on it. However, because my machine is a low shank and small throat, I cannot maneuver the ruler in all directions. The 1/4" thickness prevents me from doing anything where the ruler would go towards the back of the shank because the ruler DOES NOT FIT under the shank. Low shank DSM users beware! It's super frustrating. Also, because the throat of my machine is so small, I'm purely limited to using the HQ ruler to the front of my machine, and the left side only if it's not going to require me to do anything towards the rear left. For example: curves that require the ruler to move partially behind the shank are impossible.

That frustration is what led me to try using a regular quilting ruler which DOES fit under the shank and does not slide under the ruler foot because I've had to adjust it so low on my machine.

So, short answer: possible :) It's possible that you can use your regular quilting ruler with this style of non-hopping foot. There are a lot of ifs and requirements to do so (and some risk), but it's possible.

3/8 to 1/4 inch depending on shank size the 1/4 inch can't be used behind the foot on low shank . Westalee, patsy thompson, gina perkes, lisa calle, top anchor and handiquilter make some nice rulers. They are pretty fun to play with

I also have a Juki TL2000Qi and bought the foot and different ruler shapes through Amazon. I ordered the foot for long shank.

I don't know why, but I think I will pass on ruler quilting. Maybe the reason is thinking that ruler is going to get underneath the needle and mess up the timing of my machine. I'm on a tight budget, so I wouldn't want to buy specialty rulers and a make shift one just seems dangerous to my precious machine

I got the foot, the starter package and online classes you have access to forever. Great customer service. Even though it’s in Australia with the exchange rate it was cheaper than US and you get 8 classes. http://www.punchwithjudy.com.au

Email - [email protected], has classes online, you need to contact her for more information. I am starting my classes in September - have seen some of the ruler work she teaches - very impressed....if I remember correctly it cost me $35 to register for the online classes with Pam the lady that gives you the online classes.

I think this might help. I've played with using some of my Acrylic templates as rulers and I didn't have a special foot at all. Just had to really take my time. You might like Angela Walters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97QPXOPvwjI

Monale, I do ruler work on my domestic machine. Generally, there are 2 thicknesses of rulers: 1/4 inch thick for longarm machines and 1/8 inch for domestic machines. I FMQ with rulers on my Pfaff, Elna and Kenmore home machines. I have rulers with various curves and shapes made particularly for ruler work, I have used my rotary cutting rulers for straight lines, old plastic cutting templates (1/8 inch thick of course), had plexiglass cut to shape, and even used used photo matting board. The thing is that you have to make sure that your ruler foot is low enough so that your ruler will not accidentally slip under it and get hit by your needle. There are lots of Youtube videos available on ruler work with a domestic machine for you to learn with. Just make sure that they are not videos for longarm machines. Have fun and use whatever will work for you before investing $$$'s.