📐 🧰 QUILTING HACKS - 6 WAYS TO MEASURE WITHOUT RULERS

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Today’s video is all about measuring hacks. Some fast and easy ways to measure, mark, and cut when you're in a pinch or rather not do the calculations.
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[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

It's time for another video about sewing hacks. Hacks are great for workarounds when your brain isn't in the mood. These can also come in handy when you've left your rulers at home. I hope some of these will help you in your sew adventures. Grab your coffee and enjoy!! Thank you Birch Living for sponsoring! Click here birchliving.com/quilts to get 20% off your Birch mattress plus two free Eco-Rest pillows. Check out the Birch Kids Natural Mattress which is a 2023 Good Housekeeping Parenting Awards winner! #birchliving

[@normaholmes8909]

When measuring you mentioned that yellow measuring tapes don't stretch... need to challenge this.I used to keep mine hanging on my grace frame.. I grabbed it one day to renew sure one side of my quilt.. but measurement wasn't what I was expecting so I remeasured with my biggest ruler...long story short I realized it was my tape had been hung so the sun hit it daily and hanging as it was it stretched.. was 3/4" longer..lol.Lesson learned learned never hang them !!

[@henriettelinkshanderin1449]

Another problem is that not all tapes and rulers are correct even if they are brand new. I learned that the hard way when I was having furniture custom made after measuring it myself. It did not fit into the intended space. So we checked all our rulers and tapes. Some are now marked as „inaccurate!“ We still use them when it doesn‘t matter like drawing a straight line.

[@karens1967]

And yet again, Karen Brown hits the ball out of the park. Thank you for these wonderful "tips and tricks"

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

Thank you so much 🤗❤

[@maryalicecatronreed5169]

Thank you for the great information! I recently went to The Rushin Taylor Quilt Shop in Alaska. Beautiful little shop. Bought a quilt kit to make for my husband and had it shipped home. Wonderful service.

[@_Lynaed_]

This is one of the most helpfull videos I've ever seen. I never figured out to size up or size down a quilt block. Thank so much much! Especially when you used such diabolic measurements 😂

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

👺

[@JessicaSmith-gd1fu]

Karen, my Mom could measure a yard by touching one edge of the fabric from her nose and stretching out her arm. Believe me, I got her to test it with a measuring tape when I was a child. Her body was spot on.

[@lauriezentmyer6551]

My grandmother used to do this too! Now I do!

[@jeanettemcclintick8248]

My grandmother did the same thing. When I was very young, I asked my mother why grandma was smelling the fabric! I will never forget it. My span isn't perfect but close enough to know how much I have in a particular piece of fabric.

[@DCSinger613]

I still do this when I need a quick reasonably close measurement!

[@cynthiabetz1287]

I used this "tool" just the other day. Learned it in 4H more than 60 years ago.

[@barbarajefferysings]

I remember an elisode of "Tammy", (I'm REALLY dating myself here!) where Tammy measured a yard of material from her nose to the thumb and forefinger of her outstretched arm. I have used that for years! Also, love, Love, LOVE the jig for marking HSTs! Hadn't seen that one before.

[@person2463]

2 yard wingspan!!! Mine is 5ft. But fingertip to just before the opposite shoulder socket is one yard. Also perfect for cooking one hand is half a cup😂.

[@mariaf5474]

So helpful. I don't tend to shy away from the math, but for scallop edges or getting the right repeat to quilt borders - these tips are magical. How did I miss the jig to stabilize and mark all those 1/2 square triangles?!? Love that, particularly as I seem to have dozens to do. I need to go set one up on my portable cutting board today, so I don't forget. When Canada went to metric, I just stretched the fingertip to nose equals 1 yard, to fingertip to opposite shoulder socket equals 1 metre.

[@donnasrockgarden5755]

Great tips as always, Karen! My Dad did a lot of building, and would measure the distance for placing wall studs with his hand. Make the sign for "call me on the phone" by sticking out your thumb and pinky. Place your knuckles flat against a surface and measure the distance between tip of thumb to tip of pinky. Dad's was 9" and mine is 8". Can't tell you how often I've used this over my lifetime!

[@lexitejeda6209]

From my elbow to my fingertips is 16” and I use it as a quick studfinder.

[@bonniestearns2965]

Not sure about Canadian money but a US dollar is about 5 15/16" long. Call it 6 ". So we usually have a ruler in our purse. When determining how much fabric is on a bolt (without unrolling it) each "side" (including turning over the edge) is about 9". So just count from one side like this: "and one/and two/and three yards" and you can estimate its length.

[@violet2048]

Hello, Karen, very sorry to hear you were under the weather, as a member of the chronic auto immune group I totally understand. Please take care of you first. These are wonderful hacks. I am no mathematician. Endless Thanks.

[@suzannenewton6565]

when training as a nurse eons ago we were taught to make beds by measurements and in order to be accurate we were taught to use our finger, hands and arms to learn where on US those bed measurements could be found. So drawsheet 15inches was elbow to tip of longest finger for me. handspan is 8 inches I learned from playing piano, finger joints one measurement and different fingers gave me different measurements instantly. Long distances or awkward shapes use ribbon, or string (not stretchy stuff) even those selvedges people insist on removing can be kept the longer ones especially. I keep them to tie up items for charity into bundles, quilting squares of various sizes to keep them stacked and easy to transport to social sewing. My mum was dressmaker after her full time job and she showed me that from her nose to tip of fingers was a specific measurement, a yard from memory. During pandemic my height was our distancing in stores etc, strange seeing how long you were on floor all the time, lol.

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

I didn't know that was part of nurse's training

[@carolhughes6819]

I love your site! I get inspired just listening and watching.

[@inaduplessis5312]

Amazing helpfull video. I never new it could be this easy. My husband always must help me with this. Now I can do it myself and so much easier. Thank you so much.

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

Glad it was helpful!

[@marianmcmichael3783]

The hack for marking HST’s is fabulous. I despise HST’s because you cut, mark, sew, cut, then trim. It’s sooo tedious. This hack will make marking them a breeze.

[@henriettelinkshanderin1449]

I‘m a mechanical engineer and at university we learned to use our fingers and arms and so on to measure. My professor used to say we have to be able to make a sketch with a lipstick on a paper napkin on an airplane during turbulences if necessary. 😊

[@mariaf5474]

I just want to say thanks for the jig for marking half square triangles. I have hundreds of trimmed off corners I need to mark and make into scrap HSTs for a quilt border and though I had a cardboard template, the fabric still slipped around. As they are 2 inches unfinished, the jig has kept the sides stable while I marked the sewing line. I spent several hours doing this today, and not one curse word. Thanks again.

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

Glad it helped! I’ll pass on your comments to my Husband

[@mariaf5474]

@@JustGetitDoneQuilts please do. Collaboration and transferable skills. Perfect.

[@rebeccamulkern1051]

My mum always roughly measures using her outstretched hand, and it’s something I’ve learned to do from an early age, I mostly use it to estimate dimensions of furniture prior to buying or repositioning an item❤

[@tn5478]

I know that my index finger is approximately 3 inches and that my wrist to elbow os 12 inches. Have i utilized this when out shopping for fabric at garage sales and in stores? You betcha! I recommend getting out a measuring tape and make a mental note to yourself, it comes in handy often!

[@lisagarner8261]

Excellent ideas Karen! Your content is always useful and enlightening.

[@midgethorn4083]

You are amazing! My mom always measured a yard from her nose -face upturned away from her extended hand holding the fabric. Now I do that as well when I’m trying to estimate.

[@robinlong4216]

Thank you Karen. As always your tips are extremely helpful and I have used them in my quilting journey. I love the bias tool maker!! Thank you for taking the time to make these videos. I have been quilting for about 14 years now and am amazed at how far I’ve come. I’m more of a visual girl, so these videos are very educational for me. The best part of my day is when I receive notifications of new quilting videos. I was so excited to have met you in Hawaii. It was a definite highlight of my trip! Now, if I could give up my day job and get these quilts done. 😂😂

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

Thank you for saying hi. Always fun running into other quilters

[@PatriciaStephens-ou9hf]

I LOVE this video! This may be your best one yet. I'm familiar with non-standard measurement from Kindergarten curriculum, but have seldom applied it to quilting. I will definitely use your paper folding method to upsize blocks. Though I am usually good at math, I have always struggled with resizing blocks. This will make it easier. Thank you so much!

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

Once you see how it's done, it's so easy going forward

[@marlenesalamandyk878]

Great ideas! I definitely have to get a roll of adding machine paper. Love the quilt on your Murphy bed ❤

[@karens1967]

The adding machine paper can then be used as a foundation for your scrap strips, kind of like a wonky coin quilt. I'm pretty sure that I learned that from one of Karen's videos from a few years ago 😂. She's the best 🙂

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

🤗 Yes, all that adding machine tape gets reused for my crumb strips

[@marlenesheff3329]

Hi Karen, I loved your tips with adding machine tape--where do you find it? I looked online and I could only find 2 1/4-3" widths. Yours look wider... @@karens1967

[@denisegibson2870]

1 yard from nose tip to fingertip at the end of an outstretched arm.

[@sophiewallace8662]

Great tips! Thank you!

[@susans2599]

I bought a goniometer on Amazon that I saw in the office if the guy assessing me for knee surgery. Haven't used it yet but I know what I want it for.

[@ShadowMoonFarms]

Hold end of fabric between your thumb and forefinger, stretch out your arm and hold other end against your nose. That measures one yard

[@rv6847]

Yes! My mother always did this: Tip of my fingers to tip of my nose (when turning away from my fingers = 1 m. I use yhese as well: Relaxed hand thumb to pinky =6". Same but stretch hand = 8". Bottom of middle finger to wrist = 10cm. So useful to know all those hacks!

[@lynnscroggins7104]

Thanks! Great info for sizing up and measuring without a ruler! Great video!

[@violetwithey4618]

This is very helpful, Karen. If you are at an estate sale you can roughly measure how many yards of fabric you have by beginning by picking the fabric at its end,sliding you other hand along the selvage. Hold that end to the bridge of your nose. It's roughly 1 yard from nose to end of fabric. Keep sliding both hands from the two points until you have measured the full link of fabric.

[@mary-jeanineibarguen3756]

For me, 1 yard is from my outstretched pinch to my cheekbone. But then I'm 6' tall.

[@barbaralazier8352]

Fabulous tips thank you

[@vivianoaks4275]

Brilliant!!! 😁

[@irisuhde7635]

Gretchen ideas! My arm span is 150 cm,and a computerpaper (Din A4) is about 30cm x 20 cm.And you often have a sheet of paper in you bag.😊

[@judyyoung5079]

A dollar bill is 6 inches. I used the dollar bill when positioning my husband’s stripes on his uniforms, when he was in the service.

[@user-gg2yu6bu7i]

A dollar bill is 6 inches long. Love your tips!

[@barbaradrentlaw597]

I use real paper money since each bill is about 2 1/2 inches wide by 6 inches long. The other measurement I use is the length between my thumb and middle finger which is 8 inches. Good job Karen. Loved this video.

[@lisaroper421]

Yeah, that bias jig looked awesome!! Too bad I don't have a 3D printer 😅

[@bkernodleyahoocom]

Love it and love you!!!

[@marthag7287]

Oh my gosh! I'm about to make a quilt with HST and LOVE the jig idea. Will definitely be using this hack Thank you so much. Love your videos, always so informative.

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

it makes quick work of a fiddly task

[@emmaleecontreras3800]

I would love to see how you did the star 🌟 in the quilt on your murphy bed ❤

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

That's the aviatrix quilt

[@Subterraneanhomesiickalien]

You remind me exactly of my childhood sewing teacher Joanne. I love learning more from you

[@marygersetich8709]

I still remember my grandmother estimating a yard by holding the fabric out between the length of one arm and her nose. I do the same, but I need to turn my head to the side a bit to get a yard. For my son, who is taller than me, the distance is spot on. Great video.

[@karenboyd6293]

Thanks for the great ideas. So, I discovered I we are close to that same height, same hand size. However my thumb joints are longer than yours. We also have the same first name. I have never like my first name and now I find it extra hard. :-( I have often used my body to measure things. Still I always enjoy your videos. So thanks for bringing joy to my life.

[@helenedesmarais8697]

ANOTHER TRICK for everybody: to divide something and your ruler ''doesn't fit' , lets say 11½" div by 7.: take your ruler and ask yourself, What is divisible by 7" ? =14 so from the fix starting point, pivot down the other end of your ruler til you reach 14" . Now you can mark at 2" interval (on the ruler). Your markings will be in a diagonal , just extend the marking to the top. Parallel acuracy is important here. Hope its understandable. Bit difficult to explain. Love your videos Karen, always a joy.

[@henriettelinkshanderin1449]

I like this one even though math is much easier in the metric system we have in Europe. 😊

[@slim215]

You are brilliant

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

ah Shucks 😊

[@susanperson7620]

Thanks Karen. As always you are brilliant and inspiring. One of my "most used" measuring hacks is "two wraps around the bolt is about a yard". It's easy to count the folds on one side of the cardboard. If there are 10, then there are about 5 yards there.

[@nelldalheimthat5331]

An American dollar bill measures 6" (inches) and I have used one in a pinch when measuring things like a grill cover when shopping for a new one. Thank you fro another great video.

[@debdietz833]

Thanks!

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

Thank you 🤗

[@barbrapeck4728]

Wow how wonderful you shared those measuring ways!! Thank you kindly!!

[@jacquelinesanderson655]

Thank you Karen for this wonderful informative KZbin . Rey helpful and certainly appreciated

[@debihinkle6100]

THANK YOU SO MUCH❤ You really rocked on this one!! This has to be one of the most useful hacks I've ever watched. I plan on writing it out in word just to have it in my binder.

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

You are so welcome!

[@carolg.6838]

Brilliant. Liked and saved. Thank you so much!!! I will see about the c 3 in 1 as when I join binding strips on 45 degrees, they never match. I have always crisscrossed the 2 pieces then drew the diagonal. I was close to quitting that type of binding join. I see other pdf's on the link you provided. 😊

[@candiesanchez2304]

Love the quilt behind you! Beautiful color choices!❤

[@painiacs83]

Love this! Ty

[@rebeccapickett9692]

Love the idea of using the tape to figure a scalloped edge. Can you go into more detail on that in a future video? Thanks! Great tips ... as always!

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

I did in my video on bias binding kzbin.info/www/bejne/r16QnnijnKZ-nNUsi=skxluJfAFIXmrnLA

[@debbieparker6412]

You teach me so much Karen!you have so many good ideas!

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

🤗🤗🤗

[@glynisreynolds446]

Excellent information 👏👏🇬🇧

[@sherrymarie99]

A hack my Mom taught me for measuring yardage. If I grab the fabric with my thumb and stretch the fabric to my nose, I get 1 yard. Then we changed to metric. Now, I take that same small grab, and turn my head to the opposite side. Now I have a meter. :)

[@JenJiJ316]

Wow thank you for all the tips especially the adding machine, paper ones. I’m an accountant so have I have lots of both always on hand!

[@conniejenson6797]

Thank you so much 👍. I appreciate all your information.😊

[@GreenlandQuilter]

Hello from Qaqortoq, Greenland. Enjoyed the video and great quilting hacks too! ;) :) :)

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

I still have to reply to your email. Just home from holidays

[@GreenlandQuilter]

@@JustGetitDoneQuilts I thought maybe you were very busy. :) :) :)

[@sherrieferdinand.9042]

You look great! Whatever you are doing, keep it up! Sherrie

[@SoulsJourney]

Holy cow, these are brilliant! The paper folding to upsize is genius. It seems so obvious once you demonstrate it, but I would never have thought of it. Thanks! 😃

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sherriejohnson508]

So glad you are helping me measure the fabric

[@bevcote2357]

I have always wanted to know how to upsize a quilt block. Thank you so much. Blessings.

[@privateinfo1711]

The span of my hand is exactly 8 inches. Now that is handy.

[@sandrablackwell2929]

Most commercial tile floors have 12 inch tiles. Twice around a fabric bolt is about a yard. I also use adding machine tape if I am sewing something that doesn't move through the machine well. I put the tape either on the feed dogs, or at the presser foot and sew through it. works great for fine fabrics.

[@aerinah9790]

Thanks for the tips! I always use my arm span to measure big things. If you stretch your arms straight out to your sides, from fingertip to fingertip is roughly equivalent to your height. I happen to be exactly 5' tall, so if I hold a piece of fabric (or whatever) between my outstretched fingers, I know that's about 5' wide. I find using my height really helpful at furniture stores and the hardware store too. A 2x4 several inches taller than my head is usually 6' tall. If it's enough taller than that that I can't reach the end of it, it's 7'. etc.

[@mkbedalov4661]

Any US bill measures 6” across, your hacks are great! Thank you!

[@ninatrusty2057]

Good info in this video. I have the adding machine tape, and now a few more hacks with it.

[@keertimarathe1948]

As usual, a very good video just when we need it !! The video technique is also very good - detailed instructions, closeup photos ....!!

[@wandawalker4191]

Another great video. Thank you, Karen!

[@pamjones3594]

Thank you, Karen!❤

[@arvettadelashmit9337]

From the tip of my nose (looking forward) to the tip of my left middle finger (with my arm straight out from my side) is almost one yard. It is eight inches from the tip of my thumb to the tip of my little finger (with my hand spread out flat).

[@underthebluesky92]

Love your unconventional measuring tricks, here is mine; from my fist to my elbow is 14.5 inches. It’s how I measure a saddle seat, but it’s come in handy many times.

[@priscillagagnon56]

Always happy to see a video from you. It's always interesting and informative. I quilt to your videos all the time. Thanks for your time and info!

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

Thank you

[@janelleschwen1758]

You are just too clever; love it!

[@sueduquemin7119]

A very helpful video many thanks Karen

[@janetuesday6473]

So informative and helpful, as always.

[@beckyezra1]

love this video!! the engineering nerd that helps us so much. (wt love) , bless!!! love to see more!

[@hattiedraper1061]

Amazingly helpful. Thank you.

[@audreypoulson9603]

Thanks Karen! That was so helpful. I love your videos and always learn so😊

[@wilycat5290]

Very helpful. Wouldn't have thought of some of these measurement hacks. Thanks for the video 😊

[@susanmizen9493]

Brilliant again Karen, thank you

[@JustGetitDoneQuilts]

thank you

[@lisegagne3716]

Great video!!! I also commonly use a floor tile that’s 12 inches.

[@ozziemyman]

Amazing video! Thank you Karen😊

[@leben54]

Really liked this, thanks! So many of the techniques are things we would have liked to invent ourselves, but did not! As many ladies in msqc all stars facebook group knows, my thumb is one inch wide, I think everyone went and measured theirs straight away.. My father taught me that he used his hands as a fast and easy measurement, about 15centimetres between pinky and thumb.

[@ElizabethChronis]

Can you do a short showing where fingers go for folding in 5ths?? I’d never thought of that & it’d be very useful!

[@ronr9423]

I love your tips and tricks ❤️❤️. Keep up the awesome videos. 🎉🎉

[@gailgaddy5340]

Very helpful info. Thanks, I have found, on my body, my right index figure is 3” and from wrist bone to end of middle finger is approx 6”, from nose tip to outstretched arm is 1 yard 😊

[@lindaquinn2404]

If I hold one end of fabric in my fingers and the other end to the tip of my nose, it’s a very accurate yard.

[@darrenecollins5985]

Those are all fantastic. Thanks

[@TheMindofamaniac]

These were very good tips especially the sizing up of a block! Thanks.

[@marjoriemoore3546]

Love this! Thanks!❤

[@lynnehrmantraut9167]

This is super cool! Love the tape ledges!

[@elsafischer3247]

Thank you for this hints

[@angelamoore5903]

A US dollar bill is 6" long. Fold it in half and it's 3", or in thirds and it's 2". I can approximate a yard of fabric by holding the free corner of fabric in my right hand and the edge of the fabric in my left. Right arm outstretched, left thumb and index finger with fabric brought to my nose is pretty close to a yard.