Quilting is a form of sewing that requires precision, to acquire an outstanding quilting result, a quilter must be precise with the piecing and blocking of the top of the quilt. When the quilting fabric is not properly cut to the required measurement, the pieces will not fit together and eventually changes the pattern of the quilt top resulting in a totally different pattern to the proposed one.
Cutting quilting fabric with scissors can be challenging which is why quilters prefer to make use of the rotary cutter and the quilting ruler to achieve the perfect measurement of fabric pieces and to make the cutting process easy and less stressful.
In this article, we will be providing detailed information about the quilting ruler, its functions, and how it can be easily stored to make it easily accessible and make your workspace perfectly arranged.
What is a Quilting Ruler?
Quilting rulers are a special type of measuring ruler specifically made for quilters, this ruler is commonly used when making use of the rotary cutter and the self-healing mat. Quilting rulers are acrylic made and designed with 1/8th inch marked interval.
These rulers usually come with a non-slip coating or non-slip pads on a side and are available in different shapes and sizes and are commonly equipped with angle lines.
A quilting ruler is an essential tool for quilters as it plays a vital role in the quilting process. Some quilting rulers are specially made to cut some specific special shape or to function in trimming blocks to a particular size just like a half square triangle.
What Are The Types of Quilting Rulers?
There are different types and sizes of quilting rulers available, but the five common and basic quilting rulers include.
– Non-Slip Grid Rulers – Square and Rectangular
The non-slip grid ruler, also known as the fabric ruler is a common accessory for quilting enthusiasts. These types of rulers are made with acrylic and are essential for cutting fabric pieces for machine quilting projects. The non-slip grid ruler comes with visibly marked measuring grids to ensure an easy, smooth, and precise cutting process.
Unlike regular rulers which slide around during the cutting process resulting in a messy and inaccurate cut, the non-slip grid rulers grip your fabric and remain in place when cutting. The non-slip grid rulers are available in different shapes and sizes and it is advisable for quilters to acquire at least a square and a rectangular non-slip ruler.
While square grid rulers are ideal for patchwork, long rectangular rulers also function excellently when cutting narrow strips, and borders, and squaring up quilt edges before the binding process.
– Triangle Square and Half-Square
Making use of the triangle square and half square rulers, it is easy to cut out these shapes and you can create a precise square and triangle for your quilting projects.
– Hexagon and Half-Hexagon
The hexagon and half-hexagon quilting rulers work similarly just to the triangular square and half square rulers. You can easily make use of the hexagon and half-hexagon rulers to cut out angled fabric pieces when working on a hexagon and half hexagon quilt design.
These rulers are also time-saving and save you the stress of creating Y seams when working with half hexagons. The hexagon and half-hexagon rulers function perfectly and ensure your fabric pieces get cut accurately when they are properly used.
– Dresden Rulers
The perfect set of rulers for designing wheels and other creative types of shapes on your fabric, the Dresden rulers unlike the hexagon and half-hexagon quilting rulers are designed in the pyramid shape. They appear in form of a triangle with longer sides and shorter bases.
– Curved Rulers
400;”>Curved rulers are important when designing a quilt that has circles and curves. They also function exceptionally when you chose to create border designs or create other intriguing fabric quilt blocks.
How Can I Store My Quilting Rulers?
Due to making use of different shapes and sizes of quilting rulers for your various quilting projects, your workspace might get messy and filled up with lots of quilting rulers. Sometimes, it becomes much more difficult to find a specifically needed ruler for a project as they get mixed up and you might end up buying the same quilting ruler over again.
A proper arrangement of your rulers will solve this and make your workspace more organized and free. Below are the storing process to arrange and make your quilting rulers more organized.
– Gather all of your rulers into one place
The first step in organizing your quilting rulers is to first locate them all and gather them in one place. To avoid causing a mess, you can gather them all and put them all on a large table. Putting together all your quilting rulers in the same place makes the storage process much easy.
– Organize Your Rulers According to Category
When you have all your rulers in one place, you can proceed by getting them separated. Split them into piles according to their category. Put the standard rulers which are the triangle and square-shaped rulers that are frequently used for cutting fabrics and trimming blocks into a place.
The utility rulers category which includes strips, flying geese, easy corner triangles, and half-square triangles should also all be put together while the same should be done with the speciality rulers such as log cabin rulers and pineapple rulers.
– Find Storage Spaces For Each Ruler
When your rulers have been properly arranged into their different categories, the next step is to find where they can be properly stored. When finding a space to store your rulers, it is important to put your sewing space into consideration.
It is advisable to keep the frequently used rulers where they can easily be reached when creating a storage space for your quilting rulers
What Are The Storage Method To Keep Quilting Rulers?
Below are the storage methods that can be used to store and keep your quilting ruler organized.
– The Photo Ledge Method
With this technique, you can easily store your most frequently used rulers close to you without giving up much of your workspace. All you have to do is to install a photo ledge on the wall close to your work area and store your frequently used quilting rulers.
There are different sizes of photo ledge so getting the perfect size for your rulers won’t be a problem.
– Hang Rulers on the Hook
To maintain a clean and organized working area, you can easily hang your quilting ruler to hooks attached to the edges of your cutting table.
– Get a Pegboard
The pegboard is another perfect way to store your quilting ruler. The peg board is spacious enough to store different sizes of rulers and it allows you to keep similar rulers in the same place.
All you have to do is to install a pegboard on a wall in your workspace and get your rulers perfectly organized.
– Hanging Storage
You can make use of the hanging storage method to store your not frequently used quilting rulers. All you have to do is to hang them in a closet using an adjustable tension rod that can perfectly fit into place. With this method, you can easily store a large number of rulers.
Conclusion
Quilting rulers are essential tools for all quilters to achieve a precise and accurate cutting of fabric pieces and an overall excellent quilting result. While quilting rulers can be easily used and dropped during a quilting project, your workspace gets filled up and becomes messy due to the growing number of quilting rulers.
By following this article, you will have acquired the basic knowledge about quilting rulers, their vital role in quilting, and how they can be properly arranged and stored to maintain an organized workspace.