You were SO very careful and yet once again your points are not matching and your quilt block is not going together right and you want to cry. Or maybe you are already crying and have moved on to a drink ( quilting can do that to you sometimes).
The fact is that while there might be 50 ways to leave your lover there are possibly 100 ways to F*ck up a quilt block and some of them have nothing at all to do with you and everything to do with the tools you are using.
Getting things Straight-
My mother-in-law’s ruler is an excellent example of a serious accuracy offender. This ruler is well over 10 years old and has been used a LOT. I can say that with great confidence since it is about as straight as a politician and about as reliable!
Do your rulers pass the test?? – I personally had three that failed. I found that the longer the ruler the more chance it has been carved out over the years.
The Pass / Fail Quilting Ruler Test
You will need a nice flat, hard work surface and some index cards.
To check how straight ( accurate) your cut is going to be hold the ruler on it’s side and try to slide a single index card under the length of the ruler. With a well/ overused ruler you are going to find it easy to slip the card right under the center of the ruler and slide it back and forth to a certain point. With a terrible ruler you can even slide in a couple of cards! Being able to do this shows that over time rotary cutting up against that edge has worn away the plastic.
Generally speaking the older/ more used the ruler the more curve you are going to find. And while this might not look like much over the course of a quilt with lots of piecing it can add up to lost inches without much effort!
Possible Hope-
Check both sides of your ruler. Depending on the style, your handedness and use you probably have one side with way more wear than the other. If new rulers are not in the budget right now you can use the other edge if it is better condition.
Sucking it up – Time to Get New Rulers –
Which brand of rulers do you love?…. I am looking for a ruler brand to be a sponsor here at BAQS… who should I be talking to??
