angelamarcos

Hi, I just got an EZ3 frame, put it together, move all my furniture around to make it fit in the room, it is nicely set.
Now, I am ready to make the leader cloths but...
Directions say to make a 1/2 inch seam on the top edge and use it to put the tubing in and insert the cloth into the roller. Good, I understand that.
Now, I don't understand how to attach my quilt fabric to the leader cloth. Should I make another seam or line on the bottom edge of the cloth and pin my fabric there?
Can anyone give me some advice, please? I want to load my quilt and start quilting!
Thank you.

Queen Deb

I thihnk I understand your question. To attatch my backing to the leader cloth I pin it to the free edge which is the selvage. I purposely made the selvage 'out' so it would withstand all that pinning. If that wouldn't work for you, I would turn under the leader edge and sew it so it doesn't fray.

clear as mud??

angelamarcos

Well, now I think I understand. The problem was, the directions say to pin the backing along the line that has been stitched or marked, but in no place they have said anything on where to mark or stitch that line. So I think it is a flaw in the directions.
As I got a 118" wide muslin, I will make my leaders with a seam on both edges, so the bottom edge will not fray.
Thank you for your answer!

Queen Deb

I think the main point is that you want something that you pin onto to be sturdy and not fray.

2 Doods

The leaders that came with my Grace frame (bought it from another quilter) have a line drawn all the way across about 1 1/2 inches from the edge and she just zig zaged the edges to keep it from fraying. They are a very heavy canvas type material. She made the shorter set out of muslin but I keep the frame set for king because it is hard to adjust the length. So I have the longer set on it.

I pin to it and stick myself every time! I have heard that you can add velcro and then make a piece with the other side of the velcro that either is basted to the quilt or pined. Then to put it on the frame you stick the velcro together. I am considering this.

I have a friend that has really nice leaders on her frame. She used a gingham type printed canvas. (Don't know where she got it) It gives her the horizontal line and a vertical reference too. I wish I had the vertical to help line it up straight. Maybe I can draw some marks.....

Anxious to see why to create with your new frame! Have fun!

fabric whisperer

I used muslin for the first couple I did (I have the Grace Z44 for hand-quilting) ... not sure if my tension was too tight or what, but my muslin only lasted one project, two if I resteamed/realighed it. I switched to lightweight denim and am working on the same piece of denim now 12+ quilts later.

I serged both sides of it, then folded & sewed the seam. Lays beautifully flat, and holds up well. But I also found another trick that works better than the pins... as I rolled my quilt, the pins DID actually make a difference and to eliminate the bumps, and possibility of tearing my qood quilt fabric, I sewed with water soluble thread a 6" length of muslin top and bottom of the quilt top. Makes for easy quilting every time now, with no worries. :) Have fun! I love my Gracie

littlehud

I just bought some really long zippers for mine. I can't wait to get them and see how they work. I hated pinning. Stuck my fingers every time.

angelamarcos

Thank you very much for these great ideas! I am glad I found this board.
Tomorrow, I will keep going with this project. Will make the leaders, attach them to the rollers, and get ready to load my quilt. And there is a whole weekend to get it up and running!

vickimc

muslin will not hold up. Denim might fade blue onto your fabric. best bet is ticking or canvas in natural color. look for it on sale at Joanns. speaking as a longarmer.