I’m a member of a local Block of the Month club. I love the push each month to learn new skills that I wouldn’t have normally picked up on my own. Last month we made these fun circle pinwheels using a 15 degree ruler. They are adorable. And SO much work! It was fun to learn, but in all honesty, I’m not sure I’d do them again on my own. Which brought me to a dilemma.
The $20 ruler I needed to buy to get them done.
Ugh! I don’t mind paying a little money for a good quality tool that I’ll use over and over. But since I knew before hand that I wouldn’t be using this particular ruler very often, I just couldn’t help but think of all the other things I’d rather buy for $20. The more I thought about it the more I realized I didn’t need a 15 degree ruler as much as a 15 degree guide to use with my existing ruler. And so I sat down in front of my computer and went to work. It worked like a charm!
To use it, I printed out the image and cut out the ruler along the dark outline.
I took that piece and lined it up on my fabric the same way I would have lined up a plastic ruler.
Then I put my straight quilting ruler on top of the paper guide to give myself a hard surface to cut against. Super easy. You could even print the ruler on one of those clear overhead projector sheets
Either way, you’ll be spending a lot less than the cost of the ruler! (of course if you plan to use this ruler a lot, it’d be worth investing in a real one. But if you’re just trying out the technique this is a good way to get started)
Click on the image below to download your own! Hope it helps you free up a little money to spend on something a bit more exciting. Like some more fabric!
If you’re interested in making your own pinwheels, here are the video tutorials I used to make mine.