RuleSteady Review

RuleSteady is a quilting tool that stabilizes your rotary ruler and keeps your fingers out of the path of the blade as you cut fabric with a rotary cutter.

The RuleSteady is positioned on top of your rotary ruler after it is aligned with fabric. One side of the device sits on the cutting mat. The opposite side sits on the ruler. Both sides grip what's under them, so there's absolutely no shifting as you make the cut.

I've tried clear dots, sandpaper and other substances to keep my rulers from moving around, but nothing works quite as well as the RuleSteady. The plastic dots can make rulers uneven and sandpaper obscures ruler lines. The RuleSteady doesn't affect the ruler at all -- except to keep it in place.

I worry about that little shift a rotary ruler sometimes takes if you don't hold it just right when you're cutting. There's always a tendency for the thing to slip at the end of the cut unless you keep pretty decent pressure on the ruler.

Not a problem with RuleSteady -- you barely have to touch it to keep the rotary ruler in place. It's definitely easy on your fingers, arm and back.

Another plus -- your non-cutting hand rests on a wooden handle midway between the sides of the tool. At no time do your fingers get anywhere near the path of the rotary cutter.

The RuleSteady is obviously perfect for strips. There are no worries whatsover when you cut those narrow strips for a Noodles Swap, because they'll be perfect every time if you fold your fabric carefully and align the ruler correctly.

The RuleSteady makes it very easy to cut an accurate path along a specific line, such as stripes and the edges of border prints.

I wondered at first if the tool would be as helpful for cutting patchwork shapes from strips. I don't always use it for that because I don't have as much problem with slippage -- but it definitely works as well for patches as it does for long fabric strips.

The smaller RuleSteady is 250mm long, about 9.8 inches. The large version is 400 mm long, or about 14.75 inches.

You'll find prices on the manufacturer's Web Site. At the time of this review, the RuleSteady is direct shipped from Australia.

I really like the RuleSteady. If your strips are always accurate, you'll have less fabric waste, and who doesn't want to save money on fabric?