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Saturday, February 16, 2013

Quilting Tip...How To Stop Your Ruler From Slipping

I did a little shopping yesterday with my friend Tina, from Seaside Stitches. You know, some "retail" therapy!! I bought new rotary blades, fabric, some crafting supplies for my daughter Courtney and something for my quilt ruler that I wanted to share with you.

Before I do, I wanted to say...I have no affiliation with this product and am NOT getting paid for this. I just purchased it, wanted to give it a try and wanted to hear if anyone else uses it too.

prevent quilt ruler slipping


Here is the ruler I use the most...6 inches x 24 inches. I love it, but with most rulers especially large ones, they slip when cutting.


The way I prevented the ruler from slipping before were these little rubber dots you put on the back of the ruler in the corners. They did work great and I recommend them too, but I lost a few.


Here are the top ones...bottoms are missing. Hence the need for something new! Lol

prevent quilt ruler slipping

I went in to buy the dots or the disks and that's when I saw this in the quilt shop. It's made by Omnigrid, the company who makes the ruler I use.

prevent quilt ruler slipping

Easy instructions...measure, cut, peel, stick...

prevent quilt ruler slipping


prevent quilt ruler slipping

 I used a rotary cutter and the ruler I wanted to cover.

prevent quilt ruler slipping

They say to cut it 1/4 inch smaller than the ruler.

prevent quilt ruler slipping

Top and one of the sides.

prevent quilt ruler slipping

TIP....


Save your old rotary blades that aren't quite sharp enough for fabric anymore, but are perfect for paper.

Either switch out the blade for when you need to cut paper or mark a whole separate handle just for paper cutting.

uses for old rotary blades

I keep all the old blades in one container the blades come in...Mark it USED though.

old rotary blades

Just cut the grip with a rotary blade or scissors.

prevent quilt ruler slipping


prevent quilt ruler slipping

It's a clear cling plastic. Not sticky or glue, just like cling wrap.

prevent quilt ruler slipping

I started at the top...

prevent quilt ruler slipping

and pulled the plastic away from the paper as I rolled down the ruler.

prevent quilt ruler slipping

So far, it's worked great. No slipping and the whole ruler is covered vs the little dots which are in just a few places.

prevent quilt ruler slipping


Does anyone else use this Invisgrip?

What do you use to keep your quilt ruler from slipping?

Happy Quilting,
~Karen~

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35 comments:

  1. Wow! Here I just thought I was rushing and sloppy... Good to know other people have that problem. I am interested to know how it works. May have to invest... :-)

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  2. I have been using invisigrip for years and love it. After a while it does tend to lose its grip, but that's ok...I just spray a little windex on it and wipe it down. It gives it a bit more life. I think I replaced my first ruler covering after several years (3 or so), just from wear. I think you'll love using invisigrip!

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  3. I've been using InvisiGrip for years and absolutely LOVE it. I keep a spare roll here in case I find a still-naked ruler or I get a new one. I even use it on my little 1"x 6" rulers. It makes such a difference that I won't cut fabric without it.

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  4. I love Invisigrip too, hate using rulers without it. An added benefit is that it stops the markings wearing off the edge of the ruler. I wore out two 6 1/2" squares before I discovered this cure.

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  5. I didn't know there was such a thing! I just thought I needed to hold down the ruler harder which made my shoulders tired. :) I will be heading over to my quilt shop to get this for sure! Thanks for sharing with us! :)

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  6. I have invisigrip and have put it on a few rulers. I don't know why I haven't done it to it all. I think I will get it out and do it now! I do like using it over dots that fall off.

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    Replies
    1. I did it... I used up all my inviisgrip! Thanks for reminding me...

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  7. Great tips Karen. I've been using Invisigrip for a couple of years and love it. Also the clear dots. Recently picked up the dots that have a fine sandpaper as a friend said she liked them more, but I haven't had a chance to try them yet. But, a good ruler is one that has one of these slide-prevention add-ons as they really do help prevent slips.

    SewCalGal
    www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

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  8. I use invisigrip. It's peeling off some of my rulers (after maybe 2 or 3 yrs of use) so I need to replace it. I like it better than the dots-they seem to raise my ruler up a little.

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  9. Great tip... Mine slips all the time! I use an old blade for paper too! =) Happy Weekend!!

    Danielle
    SewMuchCrafting.com

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  10. What a great tip on using old blades for paper cutting! I've personally never had any issues with slipping. However, I do absolutely ALL of my cutting on the floor because I don't have a proper crafting/sewing space yet. That and I'm not to an age where getting up and down often is difficult (yet). That, combined with the fact that so far I haven't done any quilting that requires lots of intricate cutting.

    I'll definitely keep this product in mind if or when I move to tabletop cutting and can't have my entire weight on the ruler (usually one knee and one hand). It sounds like a great option.

    Matthew

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  11. I use it on all my rulers EXCEPT for the Creative Grids ones. Those don't slip on me. But, all my older rulers get InvisiGrip.

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  12. I need to put this on my list! Thanks for the tip.

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  13. I have used that product and it works great! what I didn't like about it is that it is stuck on w static. Ithink over time it will come off. I bought it w the 50% off coupon that comes out occ from Joanns, It was about $8.00.
    I also used "True grips" which I also liked. you can see it here on my blog where I tried it on my triangle rulers that were slipping. Hope that link works, I've not been blogging for long.
    http://queencityquilter.blogspot.com/2012/12/so-today-is-linky-day-with-bonnie.html

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  14. Yes I have added it to all my rulers. It works great so far. A friend of mine suggested.

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  15. Something must be wrong with me - I got some InvisGrip a couple years ago and was completely unimpressed. It didn't work on the slipping. Maybe I had a bad batch. . . maybe I'll try some again

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    Replies
    1. There's a right and a wrong side. Try flipping it over.

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  16. Never heard of it. Thanks so much for the tip. It's on my list for the next Joanns coupon.

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  17. I use it on all of my rulers and find that it really makes a difference.

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  18. I could do with something like this.

    I do also use a shower handle though suctioned onto my ruler to hold it down a bit easier. I found that after a particularly long cutting session my hand was really achey between my thumb and the rest of my hand so now I've suctioned a disability handle onto the ruler which is much easier for pressing down hard on. It does slip though so I'll need some invisigrip too! Here's a picture of the suction handle I use, it's just something I picked up on ebay. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31REv6TJ4OL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

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  19. Seems to me that the ruler should have this on the back from the git go. Just sayin' How many of us need the back side of a ruler to be slippery?

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  20. I agree with Elizabeth! It would make a lot more sense for the backs to come with the grip film on there already!

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  21. Ooooh I have popped this on my shopping list it looks great! I hate the slipping thing when you get almost to the end! xx

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  22. Adding this to my shopping list right now!

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  23. I agree I am adding this to my shopping list also. I am always so carefull because it does slip. This would help immensely. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  24. I also have used this for years on my rulers. Although they do tend to curl and come off at the corners after a while. I should try cleaning the ruler to see if it will re-stick or not. I think there is another reason why this clear film is a good idea to put on your rulers and that is to protect the lines of the rulers. After years of using rulers, the lines of the rulers can and do start to rub off. I saw the ruler they use at a quilt shop to cut your fabric purchase and nearly all the ruler markings were gone as well as the markings of their mat too. So the plastic film saves your ruler markings as well as helps to grip the fabric.

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  25. I consider myself rotary cutter challenged (LOL) so this is defintely something I will try to help me along.

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  26. Hi Karen. I'm a new follower. I love your blog. It's awesome. Thanks for the link party. I will visit often and hope you will visit my blog sometime.
    Best
    Angel

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  27. I'm going to have to try this out. Based on the comments, it seems like most people have had a positive experience! I'd never heard of this before.

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  28. Thank you for sharing once more, your blog is amazing! the idea will be very useful to me!

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  29. I bought a roll last fall, then discovered that I already had a roll of this. Now to just USE it. Not sure that 2 rolls would even cover all of my rulers.

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  30. That's a great idea! I don't know if they sell it here, but I'll search for it!

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  31. What a great idea! Must go get some of this asap!

    Linda
    Www.nightowlcorner.com

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  32. I have used this grip since I got my first ruler when I really got into quilting about 10 years ago. Works great and is still on the back of my 6 by 24 inch ruler.

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  33. I just put the invisigrip on my 6 by 24 inch ruler and 9 inch square. Hope it woks well! Just started quilting,Wanting to make sure to do it right, to begin with! Glad to here it been used for 10 yrs and it's still kicking.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment...I just love hearing from you!