I bought and tried those clips, they didn't hold. I did get advice from my friend who said to pin 3x more than I did, but it really is hard to quilt on a regular size machine. I decided not to do such a large quilt again, (lap sized, but was 3'x5') or if I piece one I will let someone with a longarm quilt it. The same friend suggested and let me borrow those large hair clips, the round ones with a grip. They didn't hold either. Basically, I just had to muscle through. I did a minimum amount of quilting, using Warm and Natural that is supposed to stand up to 8-10" apart.
I have neck and back issues, so it was NOT fun!
btw, DH made an inexpensive extension for me and it really helped, not having to hold all the weight up.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-121567-1.htm
Originally Posted by ChrisB
Originally Posted by kapatt
Before I got a machine quilting frame (and after pinning the layers together) I would use bicycle clips (something like this
http://store.quilting-warehouse.com/notions-clips.html ) and roll each side towards the middle, but leaving enough space to quilt down the middle. When I finished one row, I would unroll one side a little bit and take up the difference on the other side so that I could quilt on the next row. I hope this helps.
This is the way I did mine when I quilted large quilts on the machine. But now i use my longarm. You do have such a great feeling of accomplishment after you finish one, even with the difficult job on the machine. I would always feel underneath with one hand to make sure it was smooth. Hang in there- you can do it!