Thread: Quilt halo's
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Old 11-15-2011, 10:45 AM
  #5  
thepolyparrot
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If there is any kind of "lip"or difference in height between the bed of the machine and the cabinet that surrounds it, the halo will catch on that lip and be a general pain in the neck.

The halo requires a pinching motion - very hard on your hands, fingers and wrists. If you're not using a pinch to grip the sides, you will need to use a repetitive pinching motion to pick the darn thing up and move it.

It seems almost invariable that just as you get in the middle of a design - half a heart, half a flower, etc - the halo is suddenly blocking your movement and requiring that you pick it up and reposition it.

I tried and tried to get this thing to work and honestly, it just didn't happen. I found only two good points in its favor. It does a fairly good job of keeping the fabric smooth. It works as a template for drawing circles.

I bought a pair of quilting frames that are supposed to do the same thing and at least those require a larger grip - not the very small pinching position of your fingers. And maybe if you do a lot of micro-stippling or other very tiny designs, these frames would be good for that. I only rarely quilt that heavily.

In normal practice, they just get in my way, constantly interrupting the flow and requiring repositioning.

IMO, you're better off learning how to hold your hands to create a frame, wearing gloves to give you traction on the top of the quilt, reducing the friction (drag) on the underside of the quilt, minimizing the mechanical barriers to your efforts.
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