My 18” long and 2” wide sewing ruler tends to go missing when I’m working on sewing projects. I blame it on the fact that I doesn’t fit in my sewing basket and doesn’t have a dedicated storage space elsewhere. It’s also transparent and clear. In this post I show you how I sewed a Weighted Ruler Holder for my ruler.

This Sewn By Tanya project is for personal use only.

Materials:

• Front fabric: 32” by 9” or 1 fat quarter of quilting weight cotton
• Backing Fabric: 32 “ by 9” or 1 fat quarter of quilting weight cotton
• Fuse-able Interfacing: 32” by 18”
• 3, 10 mm halo snaps, 3 small sew on snaps or 3, 1/2” long pieces of Velcro

Tools:

• fabric marking pens/chalks
• scissors or rotary cutter
• ruler
• iron & ironing board

Step 1 Cut materials

Fuse interfacing to the back of your quilting weight cottons. If you are using heavier fabric (like cotton canvas) omit the interfacing.

Cut the following pieces from your front fabric (all pieces width x height):

• top piece:  4.5 “ x 5”
• middle piece: 3” x 9.75”
• bottom piece: 3.5” x 30.5” (piece together from your fat quarter)

(The center strip of my front pieces is an applique. I choose this color scheme to match my thread catcher, sewing caddy, and sewing machine cover.)

From your backing fabric cut:

• top piece: 4.5 “ x 5”
• bottom piece: 3.5” x 30.5” (piece together from your fat quarter)

Step 2 Sew top section

Take one of your top pieces and fold over one 4.75” long edge by 1/2” and then by another 1/2”. This is your finished edge. Press and stitch along the fold.

Your piece is now 3.75” wide by 4” tall. Repeat for the other top piece.

Align the finished edges of your top pieces with right sides together and pin along the raw edges. Sew a 1/4” seam along the left and right edges only. Mark the middle of each open edge.

Step 3 Sew middle section

Fold you middle piece in half width-wise with right sides together. Sew a 1/4” seam along each long edge. Trim the corners then turn. Press then top stitch 1/8” from each long edge. Mark the center of both short ends.

Step 4 Sew bottom section

Pin the two bottom pieces right sides together. Sew along both long edges and one short edge with a 1/4” seam allowance. Trim the corners then turn. Press. Fold the open ends in by 1/2” then sew the open end shut with a 1/4” seam allowance. Mark the centre of this short end. Top-stitch along the entire rectangle with a 1/8” seam allowance if desired.

Step 5 Assembly

Put the middle section inside the inside-out top section with the raw edges lined up and the center marks matching.

Sew along the raw edge of the top section with a 1/4” seam allowance. This step will also catch the raw edge of the middle section. Clip the corners and turn the top section right-side out.

Lay the top two pieces right side up on the your work space. Place the bottom piece on top of it with the lining side facing up. Overlap the top of the bottom piece and the bottom of the middle piece by 2” and pin them together with the center marks aligned.

Sew the middle piece and bottom piece together using a large box with an “x” threw it’s center.

Step 6 Form the pocket

Fold the bottom piece up until it’s top edge and bottom edge meet. Sew along the long edges with a 1/4” seam allowance.

Step 7 Add closure

Attach 3, equally spaced, 11 mm halo snaps to the open end of the top section. Alternatively you may use sew on snaps or Velcro.

Step 8 Add weight

I like to fill my top section with decorative glass stones. You may also use small pebbles or a plastic bag with rice or dried beans inside.

Your ruler holder is now ready to use.

Here are some photos of my finished ruler holder in use. I hang it from my cutting table in the corner where my cutting table and sewing machine table intersect.

I’ve been using it for a few months now and it really makes easy to keep track of my ruler. Note how the top 3.5” of my ruler are visible when it’s inside my ruler holder. I can quickly see that I’ve put it inside and remove it when I want to use it.

The bottom section of this ruler holder could be adapted to hold rulers of other shapes and sizes. The width of your bottom strip should be 1.5” wider than the widest part of your ruler and the length of your bottom strip should be 6” less than twice the length of your ruler.

Tanya

 

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