Carol in WI

It has probably already been discussed, but I wonder what brand of rulers you might recommend for a "beginning ruler user". There are many sites advertised and at a wide range of prices, but it is always good to hear from those who have experienced them first hand. Rulers may be part of my wish list for birthdays/Christmas gifts. Thank you for any advice - this board has been very helpful over the years.

feline fanatic

Are you quilting on a domestic sewing machine or longarm?

SusieQOH

I love Angela Walters rulers too.

Tartan

Rotary cutting rulers or rulers for the ruler foot on domestic sewing machine? Also if you are asking about rulers for your ruler foot, which type of machine and ruler foot do you have? There are different rulers for different ruler feet.

Onebyone

For cutting fabric I love Quilter's Select rulers in all the basic sizes. For machine quilting ruler work, Angela Walters. For specialty rulers I like Creative Grids.

Three Dog Night

I have both Westalee rulers and Angela Walters quilting rulers. I use both but have noticed that with my Pfaff with IDT does not work with some of Angela's rulers because they are so thick, on the plus side Angela's rulers are made by Creative Grids and have the non slip grippers built into the ruler, you have to apply tape or disks to Westalee rulers. There are lots of videos of both Westalee rulers (check out Sew Steady) and Angela's rulers on YouTube that show how to use. The most important thing is that you have to have a ruler foot to use the ruler and there are different feet for different sewing machines so you might want to visit a LQS. The shop in my area has classes using rulers and if available in your area or at a quilt show I would highly recommend as it can get expensive.

Iceblossom

Before getting started on the ruler discussion, let me bring up the point that many people miss -- you don't ever cut on the lines of your mat. Sure, you can, but it wears out the mat faster and causes all sorts of problems in the long term. Since you are get just getting started, don't develop bad habits and turn the mat over to the solid side and get used to using your rulers correctly! It's really much harder for us old dogs set in our ways to change what we are doing... Typically that means for right handed people that you hold the ruler down with your left hand and cut with your right, so your cut edge is to the left. Every couple of cuts unfold your strip to see if it is straight, there shouldn't be a sharp angle or V at the fabric folds. Sometimes for deeper cuts you may need multiple rulers, basically you use one to measure from the cut side on the right, and then use your long ruler on the left to hold that position.

I believe in having the right tool for the right project and I have many rulers. But the ones I most often use are my good old 6.5 x 24" I prefer that size to the 6" wide size which isn't common any more. Recently after a discussion here on the board I picked up a Quilter's Rule at the thrift store, it has a textured bottom to help keep it in place. I started quilting before the rotary revolution and I tried gripping rulers before back in the 80s but preferred the advantages of a slippery one... but at this point I really like the extra grip and am using it as my main ruler.

There are products designed to be used with the slippery rulers like tape or cork/sandpaper dots and so you can try them both ways. Some people also use handles on their rulers and recently the idea of using a weight to hold them down has spread. Personally, I have a long torso and relatively short arms and legs and make all of my long cuts standing up at the dining room table. Once I have the WoF (width of fabric) cut, I typically use smaller rulers and sit to do the sub-cuts.

I really like my 2.5 x 18" ruler as well. So many quilts have units in the 2.5" width and it's great to help make binding too. It's just a super handy size.

Then the squares, I like having them for each of my common block sizes, so I have 6.5", 8.5", 10.5", 12.5" and recently picked up a 15" square at the Goodwill. Most of the time I use the 8.5 and 10.5. I also have a couple of smaller ones which have their uses too, in my case mostly for truing up sub-units.

For triangles I have a big drafters triangle from before rotary cutting. It has no markings on it but I used it to "square" the corners of the quilt. I also have a couple different triangles, really helps to get those non-90 degree angles.

I have all sorts of specialty rulers and template shapes, for the most part, I don't use them. If it can help a specific project, then yes I think that's good enough a reason to buy one even if you will never use it again.

Edit/PS: I have vision issues and can't see a lot of the markings on rulers any more, and I simply don't use the tiny increments, I cut big and then trim to size. Personally, I don't like a "bunch of junk" clogging up my vision and for the most part quarter-inch lines and 8th markings are all I want or need, some brands of rulers are just busy for me to follow. Other people, particularly those who make miniatures might care about a 16ths cut but I don't. I use tape to mark trim lines on my rulers or I make templates out of plastic or cardboard to help when I need to.

bearisgray

About the Quilter's Rule gridded on the back rulers -

Measure one with another ruler - and then decide where to place the Quilter's Rule for cutting. The grid lines are quite thick - so it will make a difference on whether your cut is "generous" or "scant"

Iceblossom

Bearisgray has a good point, we all cut a bit differently with some degree of tilt. With my vision issues I cut my pieces oversized and my seams tend to be on the scant side, so I always trim my sub-units and I figure I might as well have enough to trim off.

I prefer to sew all of one project on the same sewing machine, markings and needle placement also vary slightly, as does how the feed dogs take in the fabric.

And yes, rulers and where you place the lines (on the cutting line? next to the cutting line?) also vary in some degree so there is some to be said about buying the same brand. For me though, close is usually good enough, it's just going to be a thread or two -- but when you multiple those threads by a queen sized top it can add up, especially if it is a difficult pattern.

Carol in WI

I'm sorry ladies, I didn't give enough information. I am interested in doing quilting designs on my domestic machine. It is a Pfaff Expression 4.2 and if I have measured correctly, it has a high shank. Sorry about all the confusion. I don't have a ruler foot and didn't realize it is different than a fmq foot. As you can guess, I'm very naive about this subject.