Here is a 1:4 scale constructed to measure up to 5 decimeters:
[DIAGRAM]
A line 12.5 cm long is divided into 5 equal divisions, with each division representing 1 decimeter. The first division is further divided into 10 equal sub-divisions, with each sub-division representing 1 centimeter. Numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 are marked to the right of the divisions to indicate decimeters. "cm" is marked to the left of 0 to label the centimeter sub-divisions. "1:4" is written below to indicate the representative fraction.