Rotary Cutting Tools
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Tools for Rotary Cutting:TIP:When you are cutting more than one layer of fabric at a time, one way to save time is to stack the fabric right sides together as you will sew the pieces together. Ironing the layers right sides together before you cut helps keep the fabric together. If you are using a rotary cutter, you can easily stack and cut 4 layers of fabric at a time. Cutting more than 4 layers tends to result in mis-shapen pieces. As you sew, you can use a darning or other kind of thick needle to separate the pairs to sew together. Using this cut and stack method keeps your pieces together and ready to sew.
6 by 24 inch ruler for rotary cutting 6 inch by 24 inch ruler for rotary cutting It is wonderful to have a bunch of different size rulers for your rotary cutting - it does make the tasks much easier, but it's better to add to your collection as you try different styles. In fact, start with just one ruler. It is a 6 inch wide by 24 inch long ruler and has quarter inch markings going both directions. After all of these years and several rulers later, that is still the one I would recommend you begin with - if you can afford only one ruler. It has 1/8 inch markings, but only slash lines at other major markings. I find that having 1/8 inch lines marked all the way across the ruler is too confusing for me. I have also found that the bright yellow and bright green markings are too distracting, so I go with the very simple mostly black marks. Rotary cutting rulers My selection of rotary cutting rulers includes the 6x24 inch, 3x18 inch, and 4x8 inches
They sell tons of the rulers marked with yellow and green, so test them out for yourself. You may like them much better than the ones with just black. My three most-used rectangle rulers are
Beyond the Simple Rulers are like fabric, though, once you have one, you need more so, beyond the simple, what's next? Maybe because as I started investing in rulers, the selection was fairly limited, the next ones I added to my quilters toolbox were squares. Square rotary cutting rulers 12 inch square and 6 inch square rotary cutting rulers While it's true that you can cut squares from rectangle rulers, it is much easier to cut squares from rulers that are square and smaller. It's like screwdrivers. Sometimes you can use a flat screwdriver to screw in a Phillips screw, but it's much easier if you have a Phillips screwdriver. So, I have two different size square rulers. One is 12 inches and the other is 6 inches. Both have a diagonal line through the center so I can also cut triangles, which is helpful. But mostly I cut square patches. And I use the 12 inch square to square up blocks. You can line up most any size block and trim two sides off, then flip the ruler around and trim the other two sides. The small square is great for cutting patches up to 6 inches. There are some squares that add 1/4 inch on all sides. However, I have found that sometimes I forget the 1/4 inch is there, and end up cutting a wrong size patch. And Then the Triangles Tiangle rotary cutting rulers For years, the only triangle template I had was the one I got to cut those cute 3D boxes. It is a 60 degree triangle, and fairly simple. The rectangle portion is 6 inches wide by 12 inches long. Then the triangle portion is marked every 1/2 inch so you can cut up to 6 inch half-square triangles. There are measurements on the left end for quarter-square triangles. I haven't tried those, yet, but I do like the half-square triangle end. And how to store them? Over time when you have acumulated many rulers, it gets to be a headache fumbling though them trying to find the one you need. Puttting them in a drawer is a possibility but undoubtly something else will get placed on top of them risking damage. It's best to have a seperate location or storage area for your rulers and nothing else. A file folder makes a grreat ruler storage rack and can be purchased at any office supply store.
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