Help with Linda's Cross-Hatch Rulers

[JustSewSimple]

I marked the 1" spacing for the cross-hatch lines at the top of the quilt. I didn't mark a line as I figured I could just line up the top of the ruler with my mark and it would be straight. Wrong, I think every one I stitched turned out a different width. Do you all mark the entire line with a regular rule before you start to cross hatch? I have about 10 lines to frog! What did I do wrong?

[Merryjo2003]

I marked the quilt as you did, but I also marked the 1" line on the rulers with a piece of tape. That way I could make sure I stayed straight when I went to the next line. You can push the ruler a little off as you sew down the side. I don't know if it's the easiest way to do it, but it worked for me.

My thought on crosshatching is that your eye is drawn to the uneven lines more than it's drawn to the fact that you may not cross every point exactly. It's very hard to piece something exactly square. A little fudging may not be noticed, but a lot of fudging to hit less than straight points is very noticable and really shows the imperfections in the piecing. I try to keep the crosshatching straight even if I can't hit every point.

[IBQLTN2]

Another tip is to only put pressure on the needle plate as stitch down the line, and walk your hand down as you stitch. Putting pressure on the ruler below where you are stitching can throw you off course. I put a piece of 1/4 inch tape on the under side of my cross hatch ruler at the distance I needed and kept that lined up with the previous line as I advanced. I did not mark the lines on the quilt at all. Be especially careful at the bottom of the ruler as you can push it off course at the bottom easier because the top clamp can come slightly away from the bar with pressure. If it were made any tighter you wouldnt be able to snap it on and off the bar.

[bonbon]

And when you mark the quilt or border, do you begin in the center and work your way out toward the edges?

Or just begin on the left side and go to the right?

I intend to try this soon. Any tips would help greatly.

Thanks!

[IBQLTN2]

I started at the edge and worked across.

[ffq-lar]

Great problem solving!

As Jeanne said, hold the ruler firmly against the needle plate near the hopping foot and walk down with your fingers as you stitch--especially as you near the end of the ruler.

I put on my base expander when I crosshatch borders--it is not necessary with inside blocks. The extra base area seems to keep the border flat and more stable so the stitching is easier.

I had a recent customer who had problems with the "pinching" that Shana talked about in another post. The leveler roller needed to be raised a bit--just as Shana diagnosed! The rulers are tested in my Milli and their quarter-inch thick acrylic at the bottom of the rulers works well on my machine. The recommended spacing between the bed of the machine and the roller--placing your fingers between and having space for your fingers up to the first knuckle--is what I have and what works with the rulers.

Hints for crosshatching a border--I love it if the piecing helps with the spacing. If there is accurate piecing at the border edge, use that for your spacing. It fits the design well and "looks right".

If there is a plain border between the piecing and the border, you can still use the piecing inside the quilt as a guide. Place the needle down in the seam between the pieced area and the first border at the seam of the piecing. Slide the ruler up to the hopping foot. Needle up, slide the foot to the seam between the two borders, and needle down in the seam. Slide the ruler so you can bring up the bobbin thread, needle down in the same spot, slide the ruler back to the foot and stitch the outside border to the edge. I stitch to the edge, travel on the batting to the next mark, and then stitch back to the border seam. SID to the next mark and stitch back to the edge. I have usually done SID in the border seam already, so there will be some backtracking, but easier that all those stops and starts.

Thanks so much for your troubleshooting, comments, kudos, and gorgeous quilting!

[JustSewSimple]

Thanks to all!