Product Review - Sidekick Ruler

A product I found recently is an interesting ruler. It is Sidekick by Jaybird Quilts (www.jaybirdquilts.com). It can be used to cut '3 shapes in 4 sizes': diamonds, 60-degree triangles and half triangles. I also picked up one of their patterns at the same time. Seaside uses the diamond shape to make a modern-looking table runner. I decided to try it out, making a smaller piece for a cushion cover.

I cut 2-1/2" wide strips, left them folded and, following the ruler instructions, cut pairs of diamonds from my strips. 

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

I played around with an arrangement for my diamonds and when I was happy with the layout I sewed the first pair together. I realized I needed to leave an extension above the seam line when sewing the diamonds together. This must be exactly 1/4" or your diamonds will not line up in a neat row. The first one turned out fairly well but I figured there must be a way to be more precise.

I turned to Marti Michell's Deluxe Corner Trimmer & Hand Piecing Aid for help. It worked beautifully. There are 6 popular corner angles on the tool (45, 90, 60-degrees and more). You can trim corners so the patches will line up precisely for sewing. 


I left the diamonds stacked together, placed the tool on top, using the 60-degree area and carefully lined it up with the cut edges. Then I trimmed the corner off the stack of diamonds. 

Now the diamonds line up perfectly with no little 'ears' to trim off after sewing.

Another feature of the Trimmer Tool is small holes that are exactly 1/4" from the edges. You use this part of the tool to mark dots on your pieces for hand piecing an accurate seam allowance. So, if you are working on a hand piecing project give this tool a try.