One thing to keep in mind, it is small and there aren’t many places for your fingers to go, so when trimming with the 1×12″ ruler, mind your fingers and be careful not to nick them! This ruler makes the process quick and easy. When trying to mark lines or make FPP blocks, it can be cumbersome and frankly annoying to try and finagle the larger rulers around your blocks. This little guy is so handy for marking blocks, trimming up seams, and for foundation paper piecing. While we love a good 6×24″ ruler for cutting out our fabric and getting ready to sew, we always have one ruler sitting next to our sewing machine, it’s a 1×12″ ruler. Omnigrid 6 1/2 x 24″ Ruler Our Most Favorite Quilting Ruler Sometimes we need to cut shapes that aren’t square and having these lines on the ruler makes it quick and easy to chop off these common angles in quilting patterns. Usually the ruler will have 30, 45, and 60 degree angles on them. The last thing you’ll want to make sure your ruler has is angle lines. We don’t use them often, but we do use them enough that we miss them if they aren’t there. We also like rulers that include 1/8″ marks as well. Watch for rulers that either don’t bold lines or have small bold lines so you can still see what’s behind them. Some lines will have borders around them, and while this seems like a good idea, some are so big it makes it hard to see exactly where that line is. Make sure that the lines are legible and easy to see. When looking at which brand ruler to get, there are a few things we recommend watching for. If you can find one with the extra 1/2″, we recommend getting it instead of the basic 6×24″. By having this extra half inch built in, you can cut pieces up to 6″ finished, instead of having to add on an extra ruler or use your cutting mat lines. When quilting, you always want to cut your shape 1/2″ bigger than your desired finished size. The second one we’ve used is a 6 1/2 x 24 1/2″.
These are easy to find at any quilting shop or online. The first option is one that is 6×24″ exactly. There are a couple different options for the 6×24″ ruler and either one will work. This is one of the most basic rulers and allows you to make almost every cut you need when starting out and in continued projects.
The ruler we recommend you buy first is always a 6×24″ ruler. They can be a great resource and we love supporting them! Our First Quilting Ruler I’m going to include links to examples of these rulers, but we highly recommend shopping at your local quilt shop whenever possible for supplies. We have a couple other rulers we use all of the time and highly recommend grabbing as your budget allows it. This ruler regularly comes in a kit with a cutting mat as well, making it easy to purchase. When starting out, there is one quilting ruler we absolutely recommend you buy first. If you are just beginning as a quilter, what rulers do you need? What should you look for in a ruler? and what about all of those other fancy ones that claim to help make techniques faster and easier? I have a few tops I’ve inherited that were made this way and I’m always in awe! With the addition of quilting rulers and rotary cutters, quilting is now much faster. Many years ago, our grandparents quilted by cutting everything out by hand.