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Permalink Reply by Terry Crawford Palardy on February 19, 2014 at 6:09pm

I find the square 6.5" omnigrid very useful. When cutting a full length I use the 6x24; for almost all other cutting I use a 3 x 18". A friend of mine swears by Olfa; She cautions that other brands may not be as accurate. And another uses whatever she finds in craft stores, and said so far the measurements of the less expensive store brands are fine for her.

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Permalink Reply by rogue quilter Queen of the WIVSP on February 19, 2014 at 6:57pm

i have the same ones i bought nearly 30 yrs ago when i first started quilting, 6 x 24, 4 x 12 w 45degree angle instead of straight on one end that i used to use more than anything, a 12 1/2" x 12 1/2 sq ..all same company w the raised ridges. they are somewhat worn, but i love them because they don't slip. i use ClearGrip on ALL my rulers now. i have added a few new ones last few years - 60 degree -two sizes - 45 degree triangls two sizes to add to the large one i already had. i am doing mostly small now so have added 2 1/" 3 1/2" etc. all on sale ...or from yard sales. i check all of them w one of my drafting rulers. regardless of who makes them these are precision engineered pieces of equipment. if they are off...look to operator error. with all the cutsey little colors and shadows etc on the modern rulers, i am thinking that maybe users might be a little confused as to which lines to use. i don't, personally, look for brands and reputations. i buy size or style i found myself needing during a project and start looking for. one of the ones that i bought at yard sales since i moved here...one that i didn't like because of the lip on it, has become my favorite because of the lip :)) it is 60" long 3" wide.

rulers to me are tools. and i LOVE tools :))

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Permalink Reply by Vickie Smith on February 20, 2014 at 6:00pm

Jennifer, I use Omnigrid the most.  I like the markings on them the best.  I do have others, but always seem to go back to the Omnigrid.

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Schifano Thomas on February 21, 2014 at 3:22pm

Thanks, everyone.  I currently have the Omnigrid.  I have enjoyed using it, but the 1/4" and 1/2" lines have worn off of both edges!  Thanks for all the shopping advice.

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Permalink Reply by Jocelynn Kaiser on March 22, 2014 at 9:32pm

I love the E-Z guide rulers. Lines are black and easy to read with only basic measurements, 1/4, 1/2, 1" and 45° lines. Some rulers are so full of lines and grids it makes them hard to read and easy to mis-read, so that messes up your cutting. Also indispensable is glow line tape that you can cut to any size and it sticks to the bottom of your ruler--kind of like the Colorforms that my kids had when they were little. It is repositionable and reusable, a great inexpensive invention. Currently I have my eye on a June tailor ruler for HST. With my 50% off joann' s coupon it should only be $10.00.

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Permalink Reply by Monica Schmidt on March 28, 2014 at 9:22am

Jennifer, I have been teaching quilting for 2-1/2 years.  My favorite brand for basic rulers is definitely OMNIGRIP, which is made by the same company as OMNIGRID. OMNIGRIP rulers have a nonslip coating on the backside, which makes it much easier to hold the ruler still while cutting!! It might also protect the markings on the back side of the ruler, I don't know. But the nonslip property is well worth the extra $1-2 in price! If you buy them at JoAnn's, you can probably get them 40-50% off with a sale or coupon. I started purchasing one of these rulers every time they were on sale at JoAnn's, until I had all the ones that I wanted. ;=)

When you buy rulers without the nonslip coating, you can apply something to the back to make them less slippery. There is a clear plastic adhesive sheet (Clearfilm?) that can be cut to cover the entire back of the ruler. Or you can get adhesive dots made from either clear plastic or sand paper that can be spaced around the ruler. I prefer something clear, so you can still see through ALL the lines on the ruler, but my friend swears by the sandpaper dots.

I have found that it is nice to have 2 rulers that are over 12" long but 4-6" wide to take instead of the 6x24" ruler, when I teach. I can carry these easily without risk of breaking them, because they fit in my rolling case. Then I tape them together with blue painter's masking tape to get the 24" length needed to straighten the edge of fabric. I have small hands, and the 4" width is easier for me to hold firmly.

I am also making a collection of triangular rulers (isosceles triangles, like an arrowhead, with 2 base angles equal). These are useful for a lot of quilt patterns, but can be hard to find in angles other than 45 & 60 degrees at the top. The Fat Cat ruler is 30 degrees at the top, but it is cut off there so that I had to tape on a piece of cardboard to get the full use of the 30 degree angle. Some of the Dresden Plate rulers have angles of 18 or 20 degrees at the top. I just found a ruler with a 40 degree angle at the top at a quilt show, and was able to find a right triangle with a 18 degree angle and cutting lines parallel to the base. I bought 2 of these 18 degree rulers, because combined they make 36 degrees and I can tape them together! I can also use them with the 18 degree Dresden plate ruler to make a complete rectangular block. (My students say that I am too good at math & geometry...)

Another important but unrecognized difference between rulers is the thickness of the plastic. High quality rulers are made with thicker plastic, but some of the lower cost rulers use thinner plastic. You can definitely feel the difference if you hold them next to each other. This DIRECTLY affects how accurately you can rotary cut!!! The contact area between the ruler & the rotary cutting blade is what "steers" the blade, if you are holding the rotary cutter properly. So a thicker ruler gives a larger contact area with the blade, and makes it much easier to get a straight, accurate cut. I try to emphasize this to my quilting students, but many quilters seem to be unaware of it. I noticed this difference when I was beginning as a quilter, and stopped buying the thin rulers. I also prefer the larger diameter, 60-65 mm, rotary cutting blades for straight line cuts, because again I get more contact area with the ruler and thus more accurate cuts.

Good luck & happy quilting! Monica Schmidt

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