The yellow plastic part of the Fabric Guides is made of tough Polypropylene. While demoing at shows, we take them on and off thousands of times without ever having one break.

But they have to be very thin to fit under your ruler so we always keep them straight when we slide them on or pull them off the edge of the ruler. If you are used to using tape that you would peel off the ruler, you have to get used to not using a peeling motion like you would for tape.

The stretch bands are made of an incredibly durable material that is commonly used on industrial conveyer belts. It's almost impossible to break and has great memory so we've never seen one break or wear out. The only thing we've seen happen is the end to get pulled out of the metal clip but that can be put back in if needed.

The stretch band is incredibly durable and you can stretch it if your ruler has an extra 1/2" but if you try to stretch the short guide to clip it onto a 14" or 18" ruler you will probably pull the end of the band out of the metal clip. We will make other sizes of guides if there is enough demand so let us know if you would like another size.

Yes. We have left them on rulers for over a year and while the band will not immediately return to it's original length, it will still retain enough elasticity to pull the guide straight on the line you set it to on your ruler.

Yes, you can get the Fabric Guides separately on this page, but if you put a Fabric Guide on your ruler without the Grip Strips on the edges, your ruler will not be level. The Fabric Guides and Grip Strips are the same thickness so everything is level when you put the ruler down on your mat. See this animation.

They are available separately, so you can replace one if needed or if you only use one size ruler all the time, you can get the Fabric Guide for that size ruler and the Grip Strips and Guide Lock Strips, if needed, separately also.

Yes. And, lucky for us, you'll definitely want Grip Strips on all your rulers and templates after you experience how easy they make it to hold your 12" and 24" rulers in place while cutting.

There are six Grip Strips included in the Upgrade Kit and you'll use two of them on your 12" ruler and the other four on your 24". Because you can cut and even bend Grip Strips you can make all your other rulers and templates just as easy to hold in place.

Guide Lock Strips are two small rectangular strips that come in the Upgrade Kit. Their only purpose is to keep the middle of the long, 24" Fabric Guide locked in place on the line you set it to. You don't need them on your 12" ruler because, just being shorter, the 12" guide stays put without them.

The Guide Lock Strips have are self adhesive and have a textured surface so when you set the ruler with the 24" guide on it down on your cutting mat, the middle of the guide presses up against the Guide Lock Strips and that is what holds it in place when you are lining it up to your fabric.

Yes. They can be peeled off of your ruler but they are not as reusable and repositionable as the Grip Strips so it's best to get another set if you need them.