Ruler Suggestion
 

I'm a beginner quilter and I'm also on a budget like many are. I've been considering buying one of 2 tools to add to my kit. I have a 61/2 square, 61/2 x 241/2 ruler a 9" 1/2 inch wide seams allowance tool but I'm trying to make my life easier. I'm considering the 15" 1/2 inch seam allowance tool or a creative grids 4-1 triangle. When I get to the point I want to make my son a queen size quilt with 6" finished size squares and HST. I've seen the video on the 4-1 and making 2 cuts for a finished size seems easier than 4 cuts. So I'm asking please for your thoughts and suggestions.... Thank you so very much. Wils

You've got the ones I use the most. I don't have any advice on the others.

My suggestion would be to consider the folded corner clipper tool by Creative Grids. It makes HSTs so easy and accurate without all that drawing of lines or complicated techniques.The corners are already clipped off so there is no trimming and the pieces always match perfectly. Layer the two colors you want to use, cut out the pieces and stitch. Perfect HSTs every time.They make two sizes depending on the final block size you want.https://www.creativegridsusa.com/products/CGRFCCXL

The length of your long 6.5" ruler really depends on the size of your cutting mat. I have an 18 x 24" mat, so I use a 6.5 x 12.5" ruler. This requires me to fold my fabric twice in order to cut it cross-wise. It's always tricky doing that because if it's not straight of grain, I risk creating strips that are humped in spots. If you can swing it, a larger mat would be great with a 24.5" long ruler. I find the 6.5" square very useful. I don't have a lot of specialized rulers, but I do like having a smaller 3 x 6" ruler. Maybe wait and see on the special ones until you find you need them?

12 inch square slotted ruler is my go to. Good for strip cutting and squaring up blocks.

i have a bazillion rulers. my "go to" rulers for triangles are those in the EZ Quilting collection.
there are other brands that do the same thing but the EZ rulers are easy [to use and on my budget.]
those are the rulers i started with and they are still usually waaaaaaay less expensive than the other brands.

I, too, have a small ruler collection. I have a couple of square rulers and a 6.5" by 24", but the one I use the most is 2" by 18". It has a "knob" that makes it easy to grab and 1/8" markings. Definitely added traction gripper stick-ons to the backsides.
I forgot about the clear 6" by 1/4" ruler that I use a lot.

You started out with saying that you are a beginning quilter. I would suggest that you not buy extra rulers until you find that you have a purpose for them. You may well discover that the rulers you have can easily serve duel purposes.

You may want to watch for rulers on sale at stores such as JoAnns or other quilt shops. I found a very large square ruler that was more than $50 + at a shop that was going out of business and got it at a HUGE discount. Don't use it often but I loan it out to trusted friends who are in need of that size for extra large blocks. Check resale type shops, garage or estate sales. Become part of a quilting group. Often folks clean out their sewing room or studio and find they have duplicates or rulers they no long use. There is your chance to get an extra ruler at no cost or at low cost.

I have a 2.5 X 6.5, 2.5 X 18 (I use a lot of 2.5 squares) a 6.5 square and a 12.5 square that are used almost daily. Those along with my BIG square are sufficient for me. I also have a couple of variations of rulers for cutting triangles but honestly I seldom use them.(I use the diagonal line on my square rulers. FYI, I never buy rulers that are designed for one quilt project. It is a waste of my $$ if I will not use the ruler for another project. My choice. I would rather spend my money on interesting fabric or an occasional trip to a long arm quilter.;)

Happy quilting.

I’m confused by “seam allowance tool”?

As for rulers, I say give it time to see what you really enjoy making. The more skills you gain the more you may want to branch out. Or, you may discover that you prefer the simplicity of basic patterns and never need or use other rulers.

15" 1/2 inch seam allowance tool, What is that? I may need it.. LOL
Missouri Star has great sales on their basic rulers and templates. Last week they were 60% off. Always buy on sale.

WOW Thank you All
 

Wow, thank you all so very much for your suggestions and ideas. I'm still learning how to comment to all and just to one person on the forum so please bare with me on this.But I've read all the comments so far and find them helpful. Yeah, I am trying to be selective on what I buy for it to have more than one use and more than one time use. I've been using my 6 1/2 square for my practice 6" finished squares but the 61/2 square is not long enough to go corner to corner to mark center cutting line. Anyway, thank you again for all you for offered, I will take all this in..

LOL So funny Onebyone... And you may not need one but this is what it is:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0873WNN2N...v_ov_lig_dp_it

Hello WMUTeach, Thank you for the comment and i hope i can explain a little.. Whoa, you have some rulers don't you :-D.. Very cool. I've decided to make my son a queen size quilt (when I get to the point of being able to and buy fabric and all. Some of is will be same colored squares and HST. As you might know the Creative Grids 4-1 triangle has 4 uses to it would be useful for more than one thing.. But I'm not totally set on buying it, I was just saying that (to someone that probably already knows..lol) I've being practicing making 6" finished HST at home away from the quilting group at church I go to, joining those together. The 6 1/2 square doesn't reach all the way across to cut mark the cutting line without moving the square.. anyway.. Again thank you for all the information you shared, look forward to more as we all go along..

I use my 3 x 18 or 3.5 x 18.5 ruler quite a bit.

For scraps, I use .h 4 x 8 ruler yhst has an 1/ 8 inchgrid.

Seam guide tool - my brain wasn't working. OK I know it as HST marking tool. I have several of them different lengths. I recently started using the Diagonal Tape for sewing HSTs. No marking needed so no ruler needed.

My 6 1/2 x 24 is a must have. I have 2 of them. I also use the 6 1/2 x 12 a lot. I have 12 1/2, 9 1/2 and 6 1/2 squares that are also essentials for me. I recently acquired 2 two inch squares in a box I bought at an estate sale. They are very cute, but I doubt I'll ever use them.

To make a lot of HST's the very best method...both most speedy and most accurate....is to use the Triangulations program from Bearpaw Productions. You print out HST sheets on your home computer, sew on the dotted lines, cut apart on the solid lines and voila! a whole bunch of accurate half square triangles in no time at all, no ruler necessary.

I love, love this program and have used it for years. And you can get the digital version for instant download.

https://www.bearpawproductions.com/s...ngulations.htm

I use Triangles on a Row paper. I don't have to print them and the paper is easy to remove. Another auction item a friend found for me. A big box full of different size rolls. Got 25 rolls for $5. Funny most people at auctions have no idea of quilting items worth. I shared with my quilting group of course.

That looks very cool Western Wilson, I may give that a try.. Do you think we're related, I'm a Wils you know :)

I also have quite a small selection of rulers but make good use of them all. I've got a 6.5" x 24", a 3" x 18", a 12.5" square, a 6.5" square (my newest ruler to help with the fact that I often work with pretty small pieces) and a 60 degree triangle which I bought to do a stack-and-whack (one block wonder) quilt. So far, the triangle is the only one that's not been used regularly but I am still glad I bought it as I think I'd like to try some more OBW stuff if I ever get my hands on multiple yards of a cool fabric or panel. Like WMU mentioned, I use the diagonal lines on my rulers quite a lot and I would second her advice not to go overboard on buying rulers. Most blocks can be made with basic rulers alone. I've also noticed several people here and in my guild commenting on how many of their rulers get neglected (or put away and "lost") after they have bought them and used them for a single specific project. :-) The more rulers you have, the more you have to find storage space for!