I bought my frame from kathysquilts.com and they sell the cloth leaders premade. I bet if you checked they may have size you need. I have the 9" throat as well and the velcro did use up extra space. I have a set of all 3 leaders in cloth and they seem to be very good quality that will last quite a while.
I also wrapped the wires from stitch regulator and lamp to the carriage rails and used wire ties. Works very well and is cheap if you wanna cut them off and change your mind where you want them.