ammorgan

I have a rail fence quilt I've been working on and it was started by someone else.

I am now to the point where I need to square up blocks but I am having difficulty lining stuff up on my cutting mat, like making a seam run along a line so I know everything is straight, and then keeping it in that spot while I carefully place my ruler down.

I do have a square ruler coming on Saturday but if anybody has any suggestions in the meantime that would be helpful.

QuiltE

AMMorgan ... Good for you for trooping on, despite your difficulties!!!

My first thoughts are green painter's tape to the rescue!
What I'm thinking is that maybe you could get your stripset in place across your cutting board, and then be able to cut several squares before having to realign. Maybe use smaller pieces of the tape, so that you can keep aligning with the cutting board line as you go, til it's in place across the cutting board. Bonus! you don't have to worry about where the painter's tape is, as you can safely cut through it.

Some have found that putting a weight (gym hand weight? or something hefty) on top of the ruler, once you have it in place, helps stabilize everything as you cut. With the hand weight, you can grasp it, and lean on it, as you cut.

These ideas may not solve your problems ... but maybe they can help a wee bit?
Otherwise, I'm sure others will soon be here with more ideas for you!

Good Luck!! and keep up the spirit!!

charlottequilts

I have small pieces of fine sandpaper stuck to the back of my ruler with rubber cement. You can peel it off if it doesn’t work for you.

I use Scotch removable tape (blue label) a Lot to hold wiggly things in place. It comes up more easily than painter tape, plus you can see down through it. It removes little to no lint from the fabric. Maybe you can tape the end of your fabric to the mat. You can reuse it a few times, but not nearly so many as painter tape.

I use a weight on the ruler, as QuiltE suggested, sometimes more than one.

There is an omnigrid ruler, very long, that has a lip on the end to hook over the end of your mat or the edge of the table. You could put the weight on it.

One thing that has Really Helped me in trimming up blocks is to put the block on a slightly larger scrap of batting. This cuts down on the wiggling and rock&roll from the block seams. There are special rulers for that issue (Bloc-loc?) but they are pricey, and most of us have batting scraps on hand.

My challenges are visual, but these things have really helped. Hoping some of this might help you.

hugs,
charlotte

Onebyone

I sometimes have a wobble when I square up using a long ruler. I have learned to adjust for it in the seam allowance and not worry too much about it. I think next time I'll be better.

GingerK

I tend to get my weightlifting in as I trim blocks. A five pound dumb bell is a wonderful extra hand. I have even used two--one at either end--when making longer cuts. I also find I have better control if I can keep part of my hand--a finger or two off the ruler on the opposite side from my cutter. It just seems to make things more stable.

Quiltwoman44

yes those gym hand weights are good to put on top of your ruler. Holds it nice and still.

Iceblossom

My difficulties are mostly visual. I will use blue tape (or 1/4 seam masking tape) to mark my ruler so my cuts are consistent. While the sandpaper or cork dots are wonderful, if seams are the issue, my usual go-to is simply a bandage cut in half through the pad. You can put them on either side of the sames that are giving you issues. I've attached a picture of a small square for trimming HST (half square triangle) blocks. I find often it is better for me to use a larger ruler with my tape lines so I can spread out my fingers to hold it securely, I can get cramped up with the small rulers.

I find I am more accurate when cutting if I am standing up. While I can trim small subunits while sitting, anything above about 4 inches is worth standing. For me my dining room table is a good height. For other people, maybe kitchen counters are better. I have relatively short arms and if I'm not careful, my tummy can push my ruler out of alignment.

Keep in mind that sometimes blocks are less than perfect, and sometimes you have to make compromises. Sometimes the easiest thing is if you are consistently making scant seams and your blocks are a little large is just to make the whole project reflect that and end up with consistently off sized blocks -- consistency is the big thing. Sometime you do need more precision and the answer is to trim blocks to the correct size, even if that means cutting off some points or being skewed slightly in one direction or another.

LGJARN52

I also use weights on my long rulers, but mine are 2 lb and not 5 lbs. I place one at around the top of the ruler, about the 21 inch line to the 24 inch line, and the other near the bottom anywhere from 1 inch to 4 inche lines. Very seldom do I get a wiggle, unless it's just plain old human error.

joe'smom

I have Guidelines 4 Quilting gripper strips on the backs of all of my rulers. I have no strength in my hands, so without the strips I can't keep a ruler in place.

Snooze2978

I also have shakey hands and I've limited my coffee intake to just 1 cup a day to help alleviate some of the shakes. I also have trouble cutting even when using a ruler but not as bad as when I'm running strips thru the machine. I use a 1/4" foot with a flange and even then I can't seem to keep it up against the flange. I've had to go back where I really messed up and stitch that area again from time to time. So you're not a lone by far. This is also one reason why I have robotics on my quilt machine as I could stitch a straight line using a ruler let alone free hand.