Wednesday 12 January 2011

Get a Grip...


........ of your rulers.


I wanted to post about a notion I recently bought and  now I believe it  is a must  have if you cut fabric with a Rotary cutter and ruler technique. (Perfect for Quilters)

It is called The Gypsy Gripper.



I frequently use my Rotary cutter and a ruler to straighten fabric edges, cut strips and most recently to make blankies and "little" baby & doll accessories.

If you have used this technique you know that even though you are very very careful ~ every  now and then the ruler moves/slides and the rotary cutter  slips...that blade is some sharp....I've never cut myself  .....but

 I'm always afraid I  might ~  Not a good thing to happen.

So when I saw this Gypsy Gripper at  Sewing World there was no hesitation on my part, I definitely had to buy it.

This notion easily attaches to a ruler.

You press the suction cups down on to the ruler, flip the levers to lock it in place ~ voila ~ done!

You hold the handle, so now your  hand that is holding the ruler is away from the Rotary cutter/blade and you simply apply a little pressure on the Gripper and safely cut away.

 Very Safe.

It's not heavy so it feels very comfortable to move around.

If you want to use another ruler just flip the levers to release the suction cups and move the Gypsy Gripper to another ruler.

Very simple.

This product probably has been out forever but I just found it :))) and as you can tell I'm pretty impressed with it.
I do think it's pretty awesome.


I hope you are all having a great week!



12 comments:

Lori said...

That does look like a great product.

Anita (Summer Gypsy) said...

Great idea. I can see getting one of those. Thanks for the tip.

Carol said...

This looks like a great product, but I really can't get to grips with the rotary cutter. I've tried and tried, but they just don't sit right in my hands.

ClaireOKC said...

Oh - I have cut my finger...doing some "easy" bias strips, my forefinger was just "over" the line, and I hit it with one of those rotary cutters. It didn't so much hurt, as I saw myself going into shock. I'm great with patching up other people, but when it's my blood and me need patching up, I'm lost. Fortunately I had a client in the next 5 minutes, and poor thing must have thought I was crazy. I kept saying I would be fine, and let me patch up my finger and I'd be fine, and just sit for a minute and I'd be fine, and I'll be right with you and I'd be fine, and oh BTW I'd be fine! You think I was trying to talk myself into something!!!!!

Love the idea of these grips and for ANYONE who works with their fingers, I would think this would be essential so as not to loose any part of them!!!

Sewingadicta said...

Great, I had seen those, but it is an outstanding purchase for me. Is Serena with the baby out yet?? I'll start with baby stuff too, my niece is expecting a baby ....

Gay McDonell said...

Totally agree Ann! I've used one for years - can't imagine sewing without one - you can also get a similar device at hardware stores - they are suction handles to help people get in and out of baths etc - they do the same job!

Dr. Fun (AKA Sister) said...

Clever, and here's a stupid question for you - how often do you replace your rotary blades? I've been dealing with fleece so long that I can't tell if it's just the material or if I need a new blade to cut better. I rarely replace these things (and have a feeling that's the wrong answer).

MushyWear said...

The Gypsy Gripper reminds me of my DH's grippers for installing glass on his handrail. His are much bigger for very heavy glass, but what a great idea for sewing. I hadn't seen them.

Anne-Marie said...

Thank you Ann for sharing. I have been think on buying a rotary cutter. Which brand or model do you suggests ?

Tany said...

Thank you Ann for sharing this great tool! I often use a rotary cutter and a quilter's ruler and I can understand how useful and handy this tool really is!

JuliaR said...

Great suggestion, I had never hard of it. I just used my rotary tool recently to cut some fleece for neck gaiters (didn't blog about it), but I don't use it as much as I could. And one day, I'm going to quilt, so I'll get one for then!

Texan said...

I was reading sewing blogs, jumping from one to another and stumbled onto yours.

It took me forever to make friends with my rotary cutter. I had trouble with my ruler slipping as well and thought okay this rotary will take off a finger if I am not careful LOL... I didn't know of this gripper tool. I did stick the sand paper dots on the down side and that helped some.

I am also a runner :O). Love it!