suspendedglass

Hi, I have a sit down handi quilter but have never used rulers to quilt with and was wondering what make of rulers are liked the most! Thanks

feline fanatic

First, make sure you buy the correct rulers made specifically for quilting with a mid arm. They are much thicker than cutting rulers. HQ makes many rulers themselves and they are pretty good. Also when searching on line they are often referred to as quilting templates.

My favorite, most used ruler is a small straight edge. My two most favorite straight edge rulers are only 2" wide and one is only 6" long and the other is only 7" long. They both have laser etching for lining up spaced inervals of 1/2", 3/4" and 1" as well as 45 and 60 degree angles. I use my small straight edge rulers more than any other ruler. I don't like handles so mine are simple and flat with no cut outs or handles. I do have an HQ straight edge that is larger and I never grab it as it is too unwieldy for me to manipulate due to it's size. I think pretty much all the manufacturers are the same when it comes to quilting rulers, just make sure they have the etched markings you want and are not too big.
My 2nd most used rulers are my curved rulers from The Quilted Pineapple. I have the full set of the original 6 https://thequiltedpineapple.bigcarte...by-linda-hrcka but I have yet to use the 10" one. The others I use pretty regularly and I use them to draft quilting designs as well as to guide my quilting.
I have a set of circle templates too but I don't use them a whole lot but am very glad to have them when I do need them. I don't use any of the specialty rulers like ones that make special shapes like clamshells (I prefer a circle ruler for that). I only have a couple of specialty rulers and haven't used any of them.

So it really isn't so much what make to buy as most who make quilting template rulers make them to the same specs. It is what shape. If want to get started with ruler work I would recommend just getting a straight edge. If you like doing ruler work then expand to other shapes and sizes.

quiltingshorttimer

I'm with Feline on not liking the handled ones--they seem awkward to me. I use rulers on about 96% of the quilts I do, so I have a ton of rulers (some came my way when I bought my LA used). I like Linda Taylor's rectangular ruler because it fits my palm well. I just got a new straight ruler from Julia Quiltoff that I'm loving--it fits my fingers well, and has a ruler etched in it. I also have a little one that has a curved edge on one side and straight on the other that is from Dusty Ferrell that is darn handy. For curved edges I like my DeLoa Jones boomerangs (come in several sizes)--the etchings on them make it super easy to do curved cross-hatching. Very similar is a new purchase of Julia Quiltoff's curved rulers. I do have a very complete set of circles and they come in handy, but are always a little "slippy" to use all the way around--DeLoa Jones' has a cool circular that you do half, then flip over and do the other half--seems to work better. I have lots of other rulers, several that click together (little hard to use). Like Feline says, go for those simple shapes that you use a lot and can be used in a variety of ways. Try them out--so they have several markings on them to help you line them up and are they a good fit for your hand. Have fun!

rryder

My most used is a small straight ruler- I have two, one made by handiquilter and the other by westalee. i like them both. I also use the westalee “circles on quilts” a lot for doing baptist fans and concentric circle designs.

I have a number of curved rulers that I use. I like my rulers to have lots of markings. Also I find that I prefer shorter rulers as they are easier to control.

Ron

cat-on-a-mac

I have lots, but my new favorite is Judi Madsen's quick-mark ruler: https://www.judimadsen.com/products/quickmark-ruler

I do a lot of straight lines, and it is made to help you do marking for that, but the size of it (4x10) seems to fit my hand well for quilting the lines, too.

Three Dog Night

I use the Westalee rulers for the most part and quilt on my Pfaff. I am currently working on Angela Atwood's Jewel Quilt (QAYG) which uses the 12" arc ruler and the basic sampler set of 6 rulers. The last panel picture uses only the 12" arc ruler for the design. I have some of Angela Walters rulers that I like and have used also. I have also used the circle ruler to quilt a baptist fan, have to admit I have way too many rulers.

QuiltnNan

Wow, those are super

nanna-up-north

I have a HQ Sixteen LA, not a sit down machine but I think the rulers you use are probably the same. I have quite a few HQ rulers but tend to use the same ones over and over. You have to have a good straight line one and one that will do your circles/curves. I have several that do different sized curves. And, I'm in a ruler club at my local LA group so we get new rulers all the time. I still go back to the favorites.

tohkatz68

Great work Three Dog Night. I have a starter set of Westalee, still learning, but there are excellent videos.