Call me The Craizee Ruler Lady!

Welcome to the first installment of the Craizee Corners Specialty Ruler Series! This monthly series will feature a new Nifty Notions Cut For The Cure Ruler and will have a tutorial on how to use the ruler, patterns, projects and other info about the ruler. Plus Brewer Sewing will be sponsoring this series and will be giving away 2 sets of rulers a month!

How this came about...
Anyone who tweets with me knows that I love love love half square triangles (HSTs). I think one of the reasons I love them so much is that I have a fool proof way to make them very easily, in any size and without having to trim. After all who wants to add another step to quilt making. After I started using the HST I moved onto other Nifty Notion Rulers. I was amazed at how easy all of these rulers were and how the worked perfectly together.

While at Fall Market last month I met Kaye England who is the designer of the Nifty Notion Cut For The Cure Rulers. The next day I had a meeting with Brewer Sewing and pitched this series. They were very quick to jump on board and a new friendship was formed. So now I get to share my love of these rulers with you! Plus I love the added bonus of a donation made to the Susan G Komen For The Cure Foundation for every ruler sold.

Caveat...as always I will be very honest in my review of the monthly ruler. I would not have started this series if I was not head over heals Craizee about these rulers. I have tried many other ways to make these triangles and this is by far the easiest and most accurate I have found. Plus since there is no need to trim it saves you lots of time! Who doesn't want that when piecing?

This month we will start with HSTs. They are the most basic and most widely used triangle in quilting. For those of you that don't know what a HST is here's a pic. These were made using a HST ruler with no trimming at all. One of the great things about this technique is that where the dog ears are shows you there the ¼” seam allowance is.

Here's how to use the HST Ruler. PDF file available here)

Step 1: Look at your pattern and see what the finished square will be. If the block is 12” finished that means the unfinished block will be 12½” It’s the same for these squares. If the finished square will be 3”, simply add ½” to the finished size to get your strip size. In other words, the square will be 3½” which will finish to 3” once sewn into the block.

Step 2: Cut 2 strips of fabric, right sides together, the size of the strips needed.

Step 3: Cut the selvage off of the 2 strips or even them up if the selvage is already cut off.

Step 4: Place the Nifty Notions HST ruler on the fabric so that you can read the logo. Line up the left straight edge with the size of the strip. Notice the flat notch at the top. Cut along the right diagonal of the ruler.

Step 5: Flip the ruler over so that the diagonal line of the ruler is aligned with the diagonal line you just cut. Cut along the straight side of the ruler.

Step 6: Continue until you have the correct number of HSTs cut.

Step 7: Start sewing at the flat tab of the HST. This is your ¼” seam line. Put the needle in right at the top left corner and sew down the diagonal using a ¼” seam allowance. Repeat for all HSTs. Do not pull the fabric, just let your machine feed it thru.

Step 8: Press in the direction needed. I find it best to set the seam by pressing the seam with the right sides together with the top part being the direction you want the seam pressed. Then flip the top half open and press the seam open. The square should measure the same size as the strips, in this case 3 ½”, which is 3” finished. There is no need to trim these at all and there will only be 1 set of dog ears to trim if you want to.

What do you think about this technique? This meets 2 of my 'rules'...1. I will do anything to not have to draw on a piece of fabric without compromising quality. 2. I don't believe in trimming, if it's done correctly there's no reason to have to trim. 

If you are wondering where you can buy a Nifty Notions Cut For The Cure Ruler check with your Local Quilting Store (these are exclusive and not found in the bog box stores), Kaye Englands store or The Berry Patch. We will have a comprehensive list soon.

Now for the FUN part! Brewer Quilting and Sewing Supplies is giving away 2 sets of rulers. The rulers in the set are the Half Square Triangle and the Quarter Square Triangle (QST). With these 2 rulers you can make flying geese and many other things. The QST series will be next month so you will be all set to try that one too.

To enter Novembers Nifty Notions giveaway you do not have to be a follower, but it would be great if you did.

For entry #1 go to the Brewer Nifty Notions page and tell me which ruler you would like to learn about.

For entry #2 go to Brewer's Facebook page and Like them.

There you go, as usual not more than 2 ways to enter!

Mr. Random will draw a winner on Saturday, Nov 19, 2011!