My ruler has some new bling! Have you noticed that many of us (well, most of us actually) will take something designed for one purpose and use it for something else entirely? Such is the case with my new pop socket bling for my 24″ Creative Grids ruler. These little devices were originally designed for phones to make holding the phone easier, and when popped out, they make a nice little stand to hold the phone at an angle so you can talk/watch hands-free.

I saw someone online using a pop socket attached to her ruler as she was long-arm quilting. It seemed to give her much greater control of her ruler as she was stitching. That gave me an idea.

I’m not a long-arm quilter, but I do use a lot of rulers; a couple of them nearly every day. I have used the Gypsy Quilter ruler handles for years. They work beautifully, but they do need to be removed every time I want to store my rulers in my new ruler rack.

The pop socket you see in the picture above is still attached to the ruler, even though it’s sitting in the ruler rack. There’s no need to remove it when I’m done – I just use one finger to press it down, and it stays put. It’s flat enough that I can fill up my ruler rack – and the pop socket stays in place.

Using the Pop Socket for Quilting Rulers

The Pop Socket attaches with an adhesive backing, much like a command strip. That means once it’s on, it’s on, you can’t move it from one ruler to another easily. My solution? I have 3 rulers I use more than any others, and I use them in combination with each other. So … two more pop sockets are on their way to my house. I’ll still use my Gypsy Quilter suction handles for other specialty rulers, but I’ll remove the handles when I’m done so I can put the rulers away.

If the pop sockets ever lose their grip on my ruler, I can get replacement adhesive stickers, and I’m back in business.

Pop Socket - Raised Position — **The pop socket is in the popped-up position.**

Pop Socket - Down Position — **The pop socket is in the down position.**

How well do they hold? So far, so good, I’ve had no problems at all with it coming loose. It helps me (and my not so nimble anymore fingers) pick up my ruler without having to get my fingernails under the edge to lift it so I can pick it up.

Here’s the fun part. They come in some fun sewing, quilting, and yarn themes. I mean, if we are going to add some bling to our rulers, why not have them be seriously cute too? I’ve added several to the shop and will add more as I can find additional sewing and quilting-related versions. Here’s what I have so far: