For anyone who likes creating things with paper, this is one of the best measurement shortcuts I’ve ever seen. I learned it in a bookbinding workshop led by Cherryl Moote. If you need to divide a rectangular sheet of paper into equal pieces, lay a ruler with the zero on one edge of the page. Slide the ruler down until a number divisible by the number of sections you need appears on the other edge of the paper. For example, I want to divide my 8.5 x 11″ sheet into 5 equal sections. I slide the ruler down until the 10 meets the opposite edge, 10 divided by 5 = 2. Mark off 2″, 4″, 6″, and 8″ points. You can then use a set square to mark the divisions, or repeat the steps from any point on the side you started on. This creates two points you can line your ruler up to for scoring, marking or cutting.

Step 4

Step 5

For some great bookbinding projects check out Cherryl’s books here at The Paper Place, or visit her website www.mootepoints.com.