I am currently head over heel with the new tool I bought not so long ago.
I am getting giddy to use it every so often.
You have probably heard the rave about it lately, but if you haven’t, you’ll know soon enough after reading this post.
Sew Steady Westalee Ruler Rack - 10 Slots for Templates/Rulers. Holds 10 rulers or templates. Base colors will vary. Base measures approximately 5” x 5”, stands approximately 11/8” tall. Each slot can hold items approximately 1/4” thick.
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- This ruler will allow quick and accurate cutting of many different quilting shapes using a rotary cutter. Simply place the ruler on the fabric edge using the grid lines for alignment and use your rotary cutter in the precision cutting slots.
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Before I go on about the review of my latest favourite tool, The Stripology Ruler, let me give a little story on the my ruler stash.
If you are new to quilting or looking to add more ruler stash, you may get more idea on which one to go for.
The Basics
6 x 12 quilting ruler
When I first started my quilting hobby, I bought the standard 6 x 12.
And that was all enough – for everything…except rotary cutting backing fabrics. It was tedious to move the little 12″ ruler and to ensure my quilt sandwich is squared with straight edges before binding.
6 x24 quilting ruler
So, the second one I bought was the 6 x 24.
This completes my everything. I feel that these both is necessary to have if you are new to quilting.
Since I was new to quilting at the time, I had not much to invest. Therefore I opted in for a cheaper Sew Easy Australian Brand.
However, I must say that they last quite well with decent pricing, although I do need a replacement for them very soon.
One has a chipped corners and the other was already broken and I just glued it back together, so the edge is not as smooth for cutting. Totally my fault. I was a bit careless with where I put them.
The Extras
12 x 12 quilting ruler
A couple of years later, I got another from a dearly quilty friend, the 12 x 12 from her destash.
That was used specifically for squaring up 12″ blocks. But I almost never use it. It is just too small for long cut, yet too large for smaller cuts.
I occasionally use them when I couldn’t find the other ones sometimes buried under piles of work in progress.
6 x 6 quilting ruler
I found another at a flea market. the 6 x 6. This one is particularly useful for smaller cuts and also trimming Half-square triangles (HST). Love, love, love it.
Great bargain and an awesome ruler to have in your ruler stash.
This one is especially useful for trimming little blocks of patchwork to the right size before patching it into larger blocks. Improving accuracy and
I don’t know about you, but I always make my HST bit larger than need then I trim them to the right size. Therefore this ruler has been really helpful to get the HST trimmed.
Otherwise, I use the paper piecing method that I have a tutorial for here. I find that my final blocks goes off too far from the right size if I don’t get the tiny blocks of HST to the exact size.
The Fancy ones
Just to note, I am not going to include templates here (which I have a stash of too), as they are not really rulers. Rulers are rather something with measurements on them.
Equilateral Triangle Quilting Ruler
Cutting triangles with the basic quilting ruler is possible, but having this special triangle ruler made it so much easier.
I used this ruler to make this quilt right here.
It went like a breeze. But I only have the 6″ 60 degree triangle quilting ruler which means they are small – and I have to piece a lot of them to make a quilt.
Maybe I’ll invest on a bigger one someday.
I see lots of possibilities with triangle ruler. Just like this quilt and this one.
Machine Quilting Rulers And Templates
Hex n More Quilting Ruler
I love hexagons. This ruler is a combination of various shapes like hexagons, triangles and jewel.
There are various patterns that goes with it too, but I have only used them once or twice. Even that – it was for a basic cut. Like here in this tutorial.
Therefore, I am not sure it was a good investment for me. Maybe if I was going to make use of it more, I’d have to buy the Hex n More patterns too.
Stripology Ruler
Recently, I have invested in the most expensive ruler I have ever bought. The Stripology Ruler.
You don’t think you need it until you try it.
I bought it because I was curious. I was also loving the idea of speeding up the cutting process.
and O boy, it did not disappoint.
I am in love.
I am currently loving it for cutting away my scrap stash into strips and squares.
Fast and eliminate the tedious work and the dreaded feeling I have whenever I need to cut my leftover scraps into common size. (more on scrap organization soon in another post)
The ruler is big! but the shipping from Amazon wasn’t too bad having it posted all the way from the US to Malaysia. I was very pleased with the shipping.
Products from Amazon.com
- Price: $15.10
The ruler has a different flexibility to it. It is very pliable yet hard enough for cutting straight edges. Something special and fancy indeed.
In conclusion: The Price is SO worth it. I recommend having it if you are looking into adding more rulers to your stash.
Not convinced yet?
Watch this video of me showing you How I Cut fabric scraps into 2.5″ strips:
How to quickly cut fabric scraps into strips:
I guess that is it for my ruler stash story.
How about you? Which rulers are in your ruler stash? How many rulers do you own and which one is your current favourite?
Let me know in the comment, I’d love to hear about it.
If you are looking to learn how to make better use of your basic quilting ruler? Take this class – smart cutting is the way to go. Cut time and get creative!
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Finding tools and techniques that save time quilting means more quilts can be made! That’s why I was pretty impressed with this quilt cutting time saver and wanted to share it with you all.
I posted a short cutting video on Instagram a while back asking for fabric cutting shortcuts and people kept mentioning the Creative Grids Stripology ruler. I had never heard of this so I immediately looked it up.
Holy Hannah this thing is clever! I bought it instantly.
I have a tendency to make quilt designs with lots of little pieces…ha. So the Stripology ruler has been such a time saver for me! Need to cut 800 2.5in squares… umm yep, give me the ruler ;)
What is the Stripology Ruler?
The Stripology ruler is a quilting ruler that really speeds up fabric cutting. It’s the perfect ruler for strips, small squares and skinny fabric strips like one inch.
How does the Stripology ruler work?
This quilt ruler is super handy because you place it once and make many cuts at once. No lifting and shifting your ruler as you cut. This also results in super accurate cutting! If you want to see some improvement in your piecing, it starts with cutting! Seriously!
My favorite thing to use the Stripology ruler is for 2.5in strips and 2.5in squares. It is so amazingly fast at cutting these smaller sizes.
I bought my ruler from Craftsy (I have the larger one – 22in x 15in). Amazon also has it here.
How to use the Stripology ruler to save time quilting step by step:
(Find video clips of this ruler in action down below.)
- To cut a width of fabric like I do below, first fold it in half.
- Line the folded fabric up on a line on your cutting mat. It’s always a good idea to use the lines on your mat to keep things nice and straight.
- Place the Stripology ruler over the folded fabric. This is where I wish this ruler was tiiiny bit wider. A folded width of fabric will juuust fit so be sure to center the ruler so the rotary cutter goes end to end here.
- Use your cutting mat to line up a line on the ruler with a line on the mat.
- Use your rotary cutter and start cutting! This ruler is nice and non slip and is easy to read. Common sizes are marked with shapes. Just find the shape and cut. No measuring, no counting, no thinking ;)
- Continue cutting your specified size the whole way through. I’m cutting 2.5in strips so I just cut on each square marking.
- And now you have perfectly cut 2.5in strips! You can cut 8 strips before adjusting the ruler.
Go from strips to squares
Now lets turn these 2.5in strips into 2.5in squares. This is where the real magic happens ;)
- Place your strips on your cutting mat. Use the lines on your mat to place them nice and straight.
- Continue placing the strips on the mat using the lines to keep them straight. I overlap my strips so I can cut more of them at one time.
- Carefully place the ruler over the strips the same as we did for the yardage. Line up the ruler with lines on the mat.
- Start on one edge and cut on the 2.5in marking the whole way through the ruler.
And BAM! Tons of 2.5in squares cut in minutes flat! I’m only showing 4 strips stacked up here but I’ll cut 6-7 strips like this at one time. Just cut slowly when you overlap them like this! And a new sharp blade helps. I just find this ruler so clever. Just think about how you can save so much time quilting!
Stripology ruler in action:
Find more of my favorite quilting tools and basics here.
Tools used in this tutorial:
- My favorite white fabric – Kona Cotton in White
- The colorful ombre fabrics are VandCo Confetti Ombres
I really like to keep things simple when it comes to quilting notions and fabrics. This ruler really is more of a splurge so when you find yourself cutting strips and small squares a lot, it might be time to grab one. If you don’t like the cutting steps in quilt making and really want to save time quilting I think you will love this quilt ruler.
This ruler really comes in handy for my Ombre Gems Quilt Pattern.