rulers for domestic machines
 

Have you used these and if so, how difficult or easy are they to use? What would be the best ones to purchase to begin with?

I am anxious for replies to this thread. I have so many questions. I think I want to do it and would wait to buy the ruler foot when it goes on 25% off sale. But, I have questions about the rulers and their cost. So, I will be watching for information from others who have already moved forward.

I have the rulers and the foot but I haven't played with them much. I know for me it's going to take a lot of practice. I've never seen them 25% off but I'm sure they will be sometime.

Check out Angel Walters’ rulers. She made them with domestic machines in mind.

As Tartan said, I would also recommend Amy's freemotionquiltingadventures.com. She has so much info about the rulers, ruler feet and good demonstrations, in addition to FMQ info. She is very laid back and I like her approach. I have purchased two of her ruler quilting classes on Craftsy and also recommend those.

I have really enjoyed working with the Westalee Templates on my Bernina and on my HandiQuilter. I'm also in the HQ ruler of the month club. If you own a Bernina, the Bernina foot is soooo much better than the Westalee foot. Right now, I have the Westalee foot with the #77 adapter, but it doesn't have enough clearance for my HQ rulers.

There's a learning curve, so if you don't get it with the first try, keep practicing. I teach the Home Machine Quilting Club, where we learn ruler work, walking foot and free motion quilting. It's important to have a good grip on the back of the ruler. I like Handi Grip the best. Another important thing to learn with the rulers, is to stop half-way through a movement, check if you're going to end up in the right place, then reposition the ruler if necessary. Machingers are awesome, and really help with controlling the fabric.

The stitching is a little hard to see, but here's the sample I made for the shop.

I think it may be on sale at nancysnotions.com, someone posted it was a few days ago not sure if it still is. I haven't found them hard to use, just a different feel. I agree with all the resources listed also check out https://blog.patsythompsondesigns.com/

There is a learning curved to ruler work, but now that I've done some, I don't really find it harder than free motion quilting.

I really like the Clarity ruler foot; it's available on Patsy Thompson's website, or direct from Accents in Design (http://www.accentsindesign.com). I find the clear foot much easier to work with than the metal one from Westalee. I also like the handles on their rulers; my fingers tend to cramp from holding flat rulers in place, but the handles prevent that. I would recommend these for anyone starting out.

For straight line work, I found the Line Tamer (just google it) to be excellent.