mnflemish

I just picked up something that has Quaker Ball Point printed on it. There is two inch boards with ruller numbers on all the boards. The boards also has small 1/2 inch pin style nails on the edge. There are two sets of legs that are 4 feet high that tee-pee in the middle when set up. I don't know if I put it together correctly as it seems to be standing at a vertical angle. I thought it was a quilt frame but I am new to quilting and am not sure what I have. Couldn't find any pictures on the internet for a Quaker Ball Point Quilt frame. Does anyone have a clue what I have? Or if I might have put it together wrong.
Carol

Knot Sew

My grandmother had lace curtains that had to go on strecgers after they were washed and starched....these had a lot of nails :-)

Up North

Sounds like a curtain streacher to me too. My mom has one.

mnflemish

Ruth, so the curtain stretchers stood up-right at an angle. I had listed a ad on Craigslist and the people weren's sure what they had so I took the chance and had my son pick them up. The last time I ever saw a quilt frame was about 40 years ago and so didn't exactly remember if I had the assembly right. So quilt stretchers don't have any nails?

JANNY

Sounds like a curtain stretcher to me. it has very sharp 1/2 pins all around the frame that you just stick the curtain on to hold it in place so it will dry smooth and stretched to size. My Mother had them. Probably would be big enough for some quilts.

butterflywing

lace curtain stretchers have short sharp nails that are driven in from the back.

the frame, when put together, forms a rectangle. think flat. the four pieces of wood are studded with the nails. the two side pieces are very long and allow you to adjust the length of the frame to fit the length of the lace curtain. the nails are close together so you don't get little dips in the lace fabric when it dries.

while the fabric is still wet, you would push the top of your lace curtain evenly onto your stretcher, pulling on the width as you go. then you would attach the bottom end to the other short end of wood, which is still loose. when the lace is evenly distributed, top and bottom, the fun really begins.

you then pull with all your might until the curtain can't stretch any more. that's when you tighten the sides to adjust the length and lock it in. at this point you pull on the sides to stretch the long edges of the curtain onto the long sides of the stretcher frame so you can adjust the width of the curtain.
you work your way down, top to bottom, or bottom to top, both sides at the same time to stretch evenly. usually two women did this. you can see why.

since lace was made of all cotton , it stretched a lot, but with a stretcher, you could keep exactly the right size. you could buy them ready made or your husband made them for you. if you had sheers, you could still use them, but the weave had to be loose enough.

they were used primarily during the 1800's and thereabouts. around the time of victorian houses. they had the very tall windows and you couldn't afford to lose even one inch of length in your curtains (actually drapes if you want to get technical) or they didn't look right. also, remember how expensive all that cotton lace must have cost. you wouldn't want to ruin it.

my friend, who lived many years in a victorian home, actually did this. i could not believe my eyes. she and her husband made a whole hoo-haa every two years. when they had a furnace blow-back, i thought they would have to be committed. they came to their senses, sold the house (with curtains) and bought a ranch. they're much happier.

any questions?

butterflywing

i forgot to say that if you didn't stretch the cotton lace, it stayed too small when it dried. i guess that was shrinkage, since everything was washes in boiling water.

ugh! makes today's laundry look good, right?

mnflemish

Thank you all for your responses. Now I know what I have so I don't have to figure out anything more. Does anyone know or have some sort of pattern or picture to look at so maybe I can make a frame or reuse these finished boards? Carol

butterflywing

as i remember:

lay two long boards on the floor. lay two shorter boards on top of them, one at each end. you've created a rectangle.

drill thru both boards at each corner. use a bolt and wing nut there to tighten the boards after stretching the curtain. drill in several places along the short and long boards, in increments that you want. they will all work the same way. you will adjust simply by moving the boards.

from the back of the boards, nail through with nails long enough to go through the wood on the shorter boards and protrude about 3/4" - 1". on the longer boards, which will be recessed, you will need longer nails. measure so that they protrude enough to come up to level with the other nails. all of those are the nails you will work on.

NOTE: be sure that the wood is thick enough or can be trusted not to twist or warp as the wet curtain as drying.

can i ask a question? are you really going to dry curtains this way? if yes, please send pics. i haven't seen this in ten years.

Up North

My mom made a simple frame using 4 boards and c clamps to secure the corners, you would have to remove all those nails, she uses thumb tacks to attach her quilt to streach it out and then pins or ties it while it is in the frame. not sure if this is what you are asking but it is an idea to not let it go to waste.