Saturday, April 6, 2013

A Ruler Tip



I'm sure I'm not the only one who likes to pick up cool tips to make quilting easier while reading blogs... and I recently came across one that I thought was particularly cool on Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville blog.  I tried it out on the Quilt-in-a-Day flying geese ruler when making the smaller of the two star blocks.   

On the larger flying geese, you didn't have to move the ruler... just trim around all four sides. 


However, on the smaller flying geese...  you need to turn the ruler to get the fourth side... the base of the triangle.


It wasn't a big deal but I started having some problems keeping the ruler from slipping while cutting.

So, using the tip from Bonnie Hunter's post, I got out my Nexcare tape...


...and applied a square of tape to the back of the ruler.


The slight roughness of the tape helped keep the ruler from slipping while trimming the flying geese block.   You can just barely see the tape... so it doesn't interfere with any of the ruler markings.


I still needed to turn the ruler to get the fourth side... and I ended up moving the center-positioned tape toward one edge and applying a second square of tape to the other side of the ruler.... but there was far less tendency for said ruler to slip.  Next I'm going to try the tape on my big ruler!

Just wanted to share...


8 comments:

  1. I read this on Bonnie's blog, but I keep forgetting to buy the tape! : )

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  2. Great tip. I missed it on Bonnie's blog. I have bought the clear vinyl stuff that you can cut to fit rulers. I used it on all those small rulers because they sure do slip. Maybe it is because I put more force on something smaller? At any rate, I may try the tape for any new rulers. Anything to save a little money for fabric or thread.

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  3. I have the same issues with rulers. That's why I have so many scraps. haha
    Thanks for the tape tip.

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  4. Great tip, I'll look for some Nexcare tape next time I'm out. I have used QIAD rulers for years. For nine years a group of us would go to QIAD for a seven day retreat, what fun, but we were all younger then. Don't have the stamina to sew like that now, it certainly was a lot of fun.

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  5. I wonder if we have Nexcare here? What is it normally used for? Do I find it in the stationery department or the bandages department? :o)

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  6. Thank you very much for the great tip! I have been trying to figure out what to use on my square rulers, and now I know. Beautiful!

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  7. Good idea.
    Lillian

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  8. Good tip, thanks for sharing.

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