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Friday, July 27, 2012

Favorite Things :: Rulers

Continuing our series about some of our favorite sewing and quilting tools, we're going to discuss rulers today! Since we both have a variety of different rulers, we're going to show them all!

Clara's Rulers:



These O'Lipfa rulers are my favorite rulers because they have the lip on the end that helps to keep them in place as they lock onto the cutting mat so they don't slide around. I also like them because they are fairly narrow 3"-5" and "18-24".  I use the smaller one on my mat next to my sewing machine, where I do most of my cutting. For the larger pieces of fabric I use the larger one on a larger mat.


Here are the Omigrid rulers I own, but don't use as often.


And I have a couple Omnigrip Square rulers too.

Jennie's Rulers:


I have a variety of long rulers, but my very favorite is the one in the middle, 3" wide x 18" long.  Small enough to use on my small cutting mat, large enough for most projects, and easy to handle.  It is also handy to have the 3 1/2" x 24" if I'm cutting something exceptionally large or don't want to fold my fabric for some reason.  However, my cutting mat is usually too cluttered to use it!


These square rulers are also the Omnigrip,  especially I love the 6-1/2" Square!  I use it often, mostly for trimming blocks particularly because I can use the 45° angle while squaring half-square triangle blocks.  Note that the grip part is only grippy to the mat, so if my block is the same size or larger than the ruler, it works the same as any other ruler.  I use the tiny one less often, but it is nice to have on hand when working with tiny little blocks.

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Hopefully that helps you navigate the sea of rulers a little bit better.  It seems that they come in almost every size combination imaginable.  I think a lot of it comes down to personal preference and the amount of space you have.

Which rulers are your favorites?

p.s. we have added some new items to our destash page!

14 comments:

  1. I mostly use a combination of an 18" Omnigrid and whatever tape measure is handy. On rare occasions when measuring large pieces of fabric I'll pull out my metal yard stick (that I own because I use it for various large-scale art projects).

    I often want to purchase a square Omnigrip, but have yet to make it there. I just never know which size would be most useful, and even with a coupon they seem so pricey for a "novelty" ruler so-to-speak. I know they have more use than just a ruler, but since they are so set in their individual sizes I've just had a hard time committing to the purchase.

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  2. Whew,this week I asked about rulers in my blog.How many rulers do you have?I have five and I use all.

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  3. I use my 6X12, and my 6X24 all the time to cut most of my fabric. If I need a square I have a 6.5 and a 12.5, I use which one I need at the time. Lastly I have a little 1X6 ruler that I love when I am cutting smaller things in half (HST) because I can pick it up and hold it with one hand without moving it all over. Makes the job go quickly, the only problem with it is that it is so little I lose it ALL the time! I need about 6 of them. :D I know I have a few other rulers, but I don't like them so I don't use them. Nice to know the omni grip only grips the mat, I thought mine skipped the grippy step in making, because it sure does slid all over the fabric. Gotta find my sand paper dots to put on it.

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  4. I have an O'Lipfa ruler too! I love it for the same reasons that Clara does. I have some of those square grid ones, too but I don't use them much. Well, technically I don't use any of mine often, since I don't sew often, but when I do sew, it's the O'Lipfa I use most.

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  5. I have one of each brand and my favorite has always been the lip edge ruler. Unfortunately mine is broken and I have yet to replace it, so I've been working with a shortened version for some time now. :)

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  6. My favorite ruler is the 8.5" x 12" Omnigrip ruler; I use my 6.5" x 24" ruler, as well.

    I have a variety of ruler but those are my 'go to' rulers. :-)

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  7. Not going into specialty rulers (I have too many of those!) I find that most of my rulers are Omnigrid and Omnigrip. My favorite size is is a 6x13. I next most often use my 3x18. I have several squares, various brands, but my absolute favorite is my 6 1/2 inch Easy Square Jr by Sharon Hultgren. I like the markings....not to many, just enough and large enought to easily read. Whenever I'm in the market for rulers I will look for more by Sharon. I don't know if she has a wide variety or not. Toni

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  8. My two favorite rulers are my 6 x 24 and a 6.5" square ruler with a diagonal line -- the Easy Square Jr. by Sharon Hultgren. I have early stage cataracts, and the black lines on a clear background are easy to read--a very nice size for squaring up small blocks and HSTs.

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  9. I've been thinking about this and I'm not sure if I have a favorite~ I use them all depending on what I'm cutting. I'd be lost without any of them. LOL Have a happy weekend!

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  10. It's hard to decide what ones I like the most...I use all my Omnigrid ones depending on the project. I love my 20 1/2" x 20 1/2" square for squaring up my quilts after quilting. The ones I use the most are the 6 1/2" square and the 6" x 24". I would like to own the 3" x 18" one, but I don't need it. I do love my rulers!!

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  11. These are great!! I have Omnigrids, but I like the O'Lipfa! Thanks for sharing! xo Heather

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  12. Believe it or not but I have some of these...even thought I really don't quilt. Thanks for sharing. xoxo Happy new week

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  13. That was very interesting. One of my omni rulers has stopped sticking to the mat....I thought it was me at first and then I realized it was the ruler. I think I might try the ruler with the lip :)

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  14. Finally in the right place at the right time....you need to think about adding the Creative Grids 7/8" Ruler to your collection. I have to store mine in a special place....away from the other rulers so I don't use it by accident...but it makes cutting for HSTs so much easier. It is marked with a 7/8" edge (the whole thing is 5 7/8 x 10 7/8). It is an awesome addition to any ruler arsenal.

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Jennie & Clara