A Trick for the Ruler Challenged

Days Made Strange, 2011
It has taken me—no, I'm not going to bother to say, it's too ridiculous—a million years (there, I said it) to finally become comfortable sight-reading a ruler. If I were smarter, I would have done everything in metric, truly. But I think I've got it now. Except when I don't.

I remember numbers out of order—that seems to be the biggest problem. I'm working on an edition of forty book/calendars and I've cut at least three of the inner holders incorrectly. I knew it was supposed to be 1 1/4", but when I looked at the diagonal cut I made (it was supposed to be straight) and remeasured it, one mark was at 1 1/2". Argh. I needed a template so I didn't have to remember the number six times per holder. And I had a second spot that needed to be measured at 1/2". What to do?

Hooray for artist's tape! I taped one side of my ruler—the one I could read most easily (in 8ths, not 16ths of an inch). I left the other side free of tape so I could use it for cutting. My work is going much faster. I hope yours does. Metric users, do you ever have this problem? Just wondering.

Tape the interval you need on one edge of the ruler.

Use the untaped side to cut against.

Use thinner slices of tape for a second interval.

Comments

Lotus said…
What a totally "duh" moment for me! LOL! Excellent!
Thank you.... ; )
Lotus
dinahmow said…
Yes, whenever I follow American directions! sigh...
(My steel rules are calibrated in metric and imperial, but my eyesight is no longer in its shining youth, so the coloured tape does come in handy.)
Penny L Weaver said…
LOVE this! While I have used blue tape on my cutting mat, I never thought to put it on the ruler *sweet!* I thoroughly enjoy your books and your blog!
Annie said…
I love this tip! Thank you for sharing.
I reverse numbers (letters, too!), so I have trained myself to use visual gauges. Excellent tip here!