How to Use Quilting Rulers Properly
Heather ThomasDescription
Quilting rulers come in all different sizes and shapes. Heather Thomas will teach you how to use them properly by explaining what all of the different hash lines on them are for as well as the diagonal lines.
Long Rulers
One of the common types of quilting rulers is the long ruler. Previously, they were made anywhere from 3 ½” to 6” wide and in several different lengths. They now make this type of quilting ruler up to 6 ½” wide, making it much easier to cut both strips and blocks. No matter what width your long ruler is, it will still have the same markings. Heather explains that the grid lines on the ruler mark an inch, while all of the smaller hash marks are for other increments.
While some of those increments might be labeled, like the ½” mark, others will not be, so it is important to either be able to visualize what the other marks are or be able to count them. Heather also shows that there are diagonal lines on long rulers as well. These lines can be used to cut 30º, 45º, and 60º angles. Heather shows how to line up your fabric along these lines to give you the angle that you want.
Square Rulers
Another common type of quilting ruler is a square ruler. These rulers come in all different sizes, depending on what size of square you are wanting to cut. While you can have a different square ruler of each different size if you want, Heather shows how you can quickly and easily cut many different sizes of squares with one larger ruler by utilizing the center diagonal line on a square ruler.
Selecting the right quilting ruler for what you are making can help save you time and money. Once you figure out what type of quilting ruler you are most comfortable using, you will find that you can do most of your cuts with just that one ruler.
Every craft that we do, or art that we do, or creativity thing that we do involves a system. A system that takes us from A through B to get to C, or whatever, and quilt making has a system and lots of mini systems within it, and one of those mini systems is the cutting system, and the cutting system usually involves a rotary cutter, a mat, and a ruler. I am always surprised at how few people know how to use their rulers, what the marks are for, and the fact that they have some great tools on them that they may not know about. So I wanna kinda walk you through the things on the ruler that you may not have paid attention to yet. First of all, know the width of your ruler. It used to be that our widest long rulers were six inches wide, but a lot of times now we can get them six and a half inches, and that's because so often we're cutting six and a half inch strips or six and a half inch blocks, and so having that extra half inch is important. Unfortunately, if I'm cutting two inch strips, and I'm cutting along two inch strips, and I'm cutting along two inch strips, and all I'm think about is that second long line, and I pick my ruler up incorrectly and I lay it down and I'm cutting along, all of a sudden I'm cutting one and a half inch strips. So I need to pay attention to which side I'm using that has that half-inch increment. As we look at this particular ruler, and I'm gonna put this white paper behind it so that you can see those marks better. This ruler is quite nice because it has some information here that tells you a little bit about what's happening with the ruler, and it has this information every once in a while, and it's going in one direction here and then in the other direction here, which is nice, so if I've got the ruler turned around, I've got that information, too. Very few rulers have this much information. What we wanna know is what all of the little hatch marks mean, we wanna understand how to use those. So if we have a pattern that says that something needs to be three and three-eighths, we understand where three-eighths is. And if we have one ruler that shows that three-eighths line better than others, we can select that ruler. In between every inch marking, so this is the one inch, or the half-inch I mean, over here would be an inch away. So in between those two things, we generally have four pieces of information. Oftentimes the half-inch between that inch line is the longest, and then we have quarter-inch lines that are a little shorter, and then eighth-inch lines that are the shortest. And so if we want to have something that is three and three-eighths, the very first thing we need to do is know that we're not gonna work off of this side because that has the half-inch increment. We're gonna come over here and work off this side. And we'll count over three inches, and then one-eighth, two-eighths, which is the one-quarter, three-eighths, and that is where we are going to cut. Well unfortunately, we don't have this additional slash line like we have with the half-inch cut and the quarter-inch cut. So I'm gonna put this ruler here and show you where that three-eighths is. It's right here. So we have to be able to - we'll put the paper there instead, right here, visually link this little hatch mark to this hatch mark to this hatch mark and so on. So those are how the one-inch increments are broken down into those eighths, and because they're eighths, there's gonna be eight of those segments. So we can cut those three-eighths, and five-eighths, and seven-eighths increments. It's not hard to do once you get used to it. Other bits of information that we have on our ruler that you may not know are there is a 45 degree mark and a 60 degree mark. Those are really important if we're cutting unusual angles, and we can cut a 45 degree. So if I set my ruler down here, what is that 45 degree gonna do for me? It's over here, and what am I cutting, nothing. I actually have to set that 45 degree line on my straight of grain, and then I cut across here to get the 45 degree angle. Or I set it here on the 60 degree line, and get a 60 degree angle, or is it a 60 degree angle? Or is it a 30 degree angle? Because on one side it's 60 degree, and on the other side it's 30 degree. But these are angle marks that you can use when you're cutting for, especially if you're doing mitered corners for the borders of your quilts. So it's important to have those lines and know those lines. But one of my favorite lines is this particular line right here on a square ruler, and all square rulers have them, and that is the diagonal line. And it's a very helpful line, not so much in the cutting, but in the finding. So, if I find the corner of my ruler, and I'm trying to measure something, and I'm trying to square something up, instead of having to count here, I simply find the eight. So instead of having to count this way and this way to find the eight inch square, I simply find the eight here along that diagonal line and know that there's my eight inch square. It's a very valuable tool that most people never utilize, and all square rulers have it. So get to know your ruler and understand how you can use it, so that you can make all those unusual cuts that have the eighth-inch, or the 45 degree angle, or make squaring up even easier by utilizing that center diagonal line.
I’m new to quilting so I appreciate this video. Now, I’ll have to go find the diagonal line on my ruler and count it off to confirm. lol
This was invaluable. Thank you. Would love to know how to square up a piece- particularly why videos show trimming a square and then turning it 180 to trim other 2 sides. I’ve never understood the latter- why isn’t squaring 2 sides enough?
I am trying to teach myself quilting, I enjoyed this tutorial on the rulers, I would of never known about this important part. Thank you
QUESTION...I know this is an older video, but I'm a newer member to NQC. Question about cutting using rulers. I primarily use Creative Grids rulers. When lining up the fabric, there is the "width" of the line on the ruler. What is the CORRECT way to LINE UP? To the INSIDE or the OUTSIDE of the width of the line? Just curious. Thank you!!!!
The lines on the rulers are 1/16 inch thick. Which side of the line do you use? Or do you attempt to center the edge of the fabric in the center of the ruler mark? I've discovered when cutting for high precision this makes a huge difference!
Thanks great suggestions didn’t realize that sq center line I do have a problem hearing you sometimes you are okay and then not I don’t know what I can do I really don’t want to use ear plugs Just a note
many thanks for the explanation as i am newish to the magical world of quilting. best wishes to all
I just have to say how thankful I am for this video! I am a nurse and decided to take up quilting on my days off to keep my mind busy apart from the stresses we are currently facing. As someone that knows nothing about quilting, I have been watching many videos but this is the first I’ve seen about all those lines on my ruler - and it really makes so much sense now! I knew they had to have a purpose! Thank you thank you!
I would like to learn the proper way to use rulers.
Good info if you can get thru the duplicating in the video multiple times. Hard to understand due to this.