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5 of my Favorite Quilt Rulers

I noticed the other day that seem to be collecting quite a few quilt rulers. The longer I quilt the more I seem to have.  I’ve noticed over the years that I seem to reach for the same rulers over and over again.

Today I thought I’d share with you 5 of my Favorite Quilt Rulers. If you have a favorite quilt ruler, be sure to let me know what it is in the comments section!

favorite quilt rulers

I learned to quilt when I was in High School. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful sewing teacher and we had a fantastic program at my school.   Over the course of that year, we learned to make draperies, tailor clothes, knit, and quilt.

To make my first quilt all I used was a rotary cutter and one 36″ quilt ruler.  In the years since then, then I’ve made several more quilts. I still stick with that handy and versatile 36″ ruler but have found several other rulers that I keep going back to again and again.

To keep it simple today I’ll share 5 of them with you (even though I could easily list more, those little buggers are sure fun to play around with!) This post contains affiliate links.

1. Creative Grids Rulers

A free no math polaroid quilt block tutorial. Learn how to make polaroid quilt blocks in any size - with no math required!

(photo is from my No-Math Polaroid Quilt Blocks Tutorial)

A long time ago I was cutting binding strips with my quilt ruler and rotary cutter. The ruler slipped and I sliced through the top of my finger.  A trip to the ER and several stitches were necessary.

Ever since then I’ve been super careful when using my rotary cutter.  I always wear a protective glove and have discovered ‘non-slip’ rulers.   My favorites are the Creative Grid brand. They don’t slip and come in lots of different sizes to meet your particular quilting need.

My favorite one right now is the 2 1/2″ x 18 1/2″

2. Half Hexagon Ruler

how to make a halloween quilt


I love the look of a hexagon quilt but I don’t want to stitch all of the “Y” seams that come along with making a hexagon quilt.   The Hexie Half Ruler (mine is from Riley Blake Designs but many other companies make them as well), is designed so that you can make a hexagon quilt WITHOUT stitching any “Y” seams.  

You simply cut out your shapes then stitch them into rows, then stitch the rows together to get the hexagons.

I made this Halloween Hexagon quilt using these rulers. Read more about the quilt on my blog.

3. Bloc Loc Rulers

Tips and tricks to help you when you're constructing quilt blocks. Things like how to stay organized and how to trim HST blocks accurately.


One of the essential building blocks of both Traditional and Modern Quilting is the Half Square Triangle (HST).  They are pretty easy to stitch and can be rearranged in a dozen different ways in a quilt.  After you stitch an HST you need to trim the sewn pieces into a perfect square.

You can use the measurements on the cutting mat, but using a square ruler is much easier.

The Bloc Loc Rulers are designed with a groove down the center.  The groove sits over the top of the seam in the block and keeps it from moving around while you’re trimming it.  It’s so genius I don’t know why someone didn’t think of it earlier!

Are Bloc Loc Rulers worth the money?

I’ve received several “are bloc-loc rulers worth the money”? emails over the years.

I realized that each of us has a different budget when it comes to quilting, but for me, they have absolutely been worth the money. They are one of the most frequently used rulers in my sewing room.

4. Triangle Square Up Ruler

Tips and tricks to help you when you're constructing quilt blocks. Things like how to stay organized and how to trim HST blocks accurately.


The Quilt in a Day Triangle Square Up Ruler works in a similar way to the bloc loc ruler but you trim the HST before you press it open.  If you are trimming a lot of HST’s this ruler will save you a lot of time.  It also has measurements every half inch so it can accommodate a large variety of HST sizes.

5. Dresden Ruler

How to add a dresden plate to a tote bag


Oh, how I love Dresden Plates!!  They are one of my absolute favorite quilt blocks to sew. The Easy Dresden Ruler makes stitching them up a breeze. The ruler comes with full instructions including measurements to help you plan the finished size of your Dresden Plates.

Here you can see a few of the quilts I’ve made using a Dresden Ruler:

Free tutorial for a Dresden Baby Quilt, so cute and simple!

Dresden Burst Baby Quilt

Zinnia the Zebra Quilt Pattern - such a fun applique quilt pattern, would be so cute to make as a baby quilt or for a child!

Zinnia Zebra Quilt Pattern

How to cut dresden blades with the cricut maker- and free svg file for the dresden blades

How to Make a Dresden Quilt Block

Tell me, what did I miss?  Share in the comments section!

TIP: How to Store your Quilt Rulers

If you have a lot of quilt rulers and you’re not sure how to store them, check out how I built a pegboard to store my rulers!

Learn how to make a peg board. Perfect solution for sewing or craft room storage. A great idea to organize your quilt rulers!

More Quilt Tips & Tricks:

5 Clever Tips to Organize your Fabric Stash

Quilt Block Piecing Tips

Complete List of Beginner Quilt Resources

5 of my Favorite Quilt Rulers!!

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4 Comments

  1. Bloc-Loc rulers are a MUST! They are by far my fav to square up blocks. Thanks for the other suggestions. Will check them out for sure.

  2. While cutting long strips my ruler kept slipping too. Couldn’t t find the little things to put on the ruler to keep it from sliding around at my local wal mart. I used dots or lines from my hot glue gun on the ruler works perfect. Just a little glue will do.

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