Who makes the quilting ruler that holds the fabric and what sizes does ti come in??

Question

I need a quilting ruler but theres so many to choose from. I only need it to help me cut straighter lines...Im on a solo mission so what brand and where to get it would be awsome.
Oh and what do you prefer to mark fabric with and why?? Im useing fabric pencils now just wondering if theres something better out there.
I cant take a class I have nobody to watch my baby that night, so as much advice as possible would be awsome!!!

Answer 1

Omnigrip is a special ruler by Omnigrid that has a nonslip surface on the back of the ruler. This keeps it from sliding around on the fabric as you get to the end of the cut. However, you can also buy Invisigrip, by the same company. It's a thin piece of plastic like a static sticker that you place on the back of the ruler. you can cut it to fit any ruler you already have. You can also use small sandpaper disks that have adhesive on the back.

As far as sizes, you should have one ruler that is 6" x 12", and one that is at least 18" long (I like my 3" x 18", but many people prefer a 6" x 24"). I prefer ones that have a 1/8" grid on at least part of the ruler. You can also buy frosted rulers (I think they're by Olfa) that make it easier to see the cutting lines on dark fabric.

I'm cheap when it comes to marking fabric. I just use a plain old mechanical pencil, especially if I'm marking a cutting line. I mean, I'm just going to cut on it and it will end up in the selvage anyway, so why worry? I even use a pencil when I draw sewing lines on my half square triangles.

The biggest tip to achieve accurate cutting is CUT BIG. Cut the piece just a hair bigger than you think you should. You need to line up the fabric at the outside of the measuring line, not the inside or center. The second most important tip for accurate piecing is SEW SMALL. Always sew a 'scant' quarter inch. Use an index card to measure 1/4" from your needle on the sewing machine. Mark it just a tiny big inside the actual 1/4 line. I like to take a roll of blue painter's tape and use a utility knife to cut through several layers. I peel back a stack of the tape and cut it off so I have a section about 2" long. I stick this to the bed of my machine at the scant 1/4" mark. This gives me something to butt my fabric up against, and makes it much easier to achieve a (practically) perfect seam.

And the last tip - if all else fails, cut really big, sew as accurately as you can, press each segment, then trim it to the correct size. It takes a little extra work, but it's worth it to not fight with that darn 1/4".

Check out the websites below for quilting videos. The best way to learn is to see what other people are doing, then try it yourself. If you can't attend a class, then videos are your next best option.

Answer 2

You did not say how large your pieces are, but are there are so many shapes and sizes quilters may want to cut them into, you could consider cutting larger pieces into "fat quarters" These are 9" x 22#. Most quilters use 100% cotton fabrics. These usually come in 45" widths. By the time the selvages are trimmed off, the full width of the fabrid would be 44". If you divide a yard into halves vertically at the 18"length, and then divide those two halves again, you have four pieces 9 by 44 ". Now cut each one down the fold if it is still there of fold the fabric vertically, bringing together the edges you first made by cutting off the selvages. Cut along the fold. You know have eight fat quarters. In a fabric store these retail at between $1.00 each (big clearance sale) to $2.50 each (brand new fabric). Quilters like these because they can get an assortment of more colors or prints this way than by buying whole yards of fabrics. Good luck. You can also make fabric grab bags with smaller pieces and just make them with a price like $4.00 for the entire bag. Quilters will probably ask if the contents are all cotton though.

Answer 3

I am providing a link to the page that I order my supplies from. The best purchase I ever made was the rotary cutter and pad, and I also have several of the other items from this page.

I don't usually mark fabric, but I use pins as guides, and sometimes sew a running cut away stitch.

Answer 4

http://www.quiltcentraltv.com/category.php/?category=Tools:Rulers

http://quilting.about.com/od/rotarycuttingskills/ss/cutting_strips.htm

http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog_old.jsp?CATID=24990&PRODID=81681&foreground=green

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/obrienpubs/basics.htm

http://quilting.about.com/od/toolequipmentreviews/fr/rulesteady.htm?nl=1

http://quilting.about.com/od/toolequipmentreviews/Quilting_Tool_Equipment_Reviews.htm

http://www.plainandsimplequilts.com/Tips%20and%20Tidbits.htm

http://quilting.about.com/od/stepbystepquilting/a/make_a_quilt.htm