Pinning to the quilt frame - hat pins vs T pins vs ...?
#13
Power Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Northern Michigan
Posts: 12,861
I've been using 2" long flower pins for years- they are sharp, flat and with practice I have managed to be much faster loading- I can generally load a king sized quilt top, backing & batting In less than an hour. just takes practice & getting a 'routine'...and nice sharp flat pins...the T pins I have seen are so thick...I can not imagine trying to force them through the canvas leaders- my flower pins are thin & sharp- goes through the canvas easily.
#15
I fist used corsage pins: 100 in the box, sold by a quilt store that used to send a truck with orders from California.
I also have a Quiltak gun and use their 2" fasteners for the bottom of the top of the quilt. I found I could get closer to the quilt top edge when using my HQ.
I now have red snappers for the take up roller and the backing roller bars. I also used them for the quilt top but haven't finished the quilt now on the frame. So, not sure if I'll remove them from the quilt top when I get to the bottom of it.
Re: red snappers ... I couldn't put the rods together and had to get help from a fellow quilter's husband [he's an engineer and I knew he wouldn't harm my red snappers.] Also, the first few times using the r.s. will probably require more time and hand pressure. Mine took me a bit of time but at my friend's home her r.s.'s were easier to put on.
I also have the magnet bars from Harbor Freight so I can float my top. Just haven't used them yet.
I also have a Quiltak gun and use their 2" fasteners for the bottom of the top of the quilt. I found I could get closer to the quilt top edge when using my HQ.
I now have red snappers for the take up roller and the backing roller bars. I also used them for the quilt top but haven't finished the quilt now on the frame. So, not sure if I'll remove them from the quilt top when I get to the bottom of it.
Re: red snappers ... I couldn't put the rods together and had to get help from a fellow quilter's husband [he's an engineer and I knew he wouldn't harm my red snappers.] Also, the first few times using the r.s. will probably require more time and hand pressure. Mine took me a bit of time but at my friend's home her r.s.'s were easier to put on.
I also have the magnet bars from Harbor Freight so I can float my top. Just haven't used them yet.
#16
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: La Quinta, CA
Posts: 3,918
I use the quilting pins with yellow plastic round heads. They come in boxes of 500, pretty reasonable price-wise. I just bought a new supply and tossed my old (5 years) ones. New pins do make loading easier. Just like rotary blades, change them when they're dull.
#18
Haven't got a long arm but I did watch a You tube video where the young lady had resorted to small magnets to hold the backing fabric along the metal roller. She had tried the zipper and other methods but now found the magnets worked fine. She was very competent too.
I would not load a quilt without my red snappers. I practiced on a system that had zipper leaders, and you had to either pin or sew the quilt to the leaders in that case. With the red snappers, I never touch a pin. Matter of fact dont think there is a pin at all in my long arm room. Takes me about 15mins to fully load a quilt. it stays straight never had any issues with that. Would probably take me less time but I sorta poke around and listen to music
I would definitely recommend them to any and all people who have long arms. They are a godsend! worth every single penny and then some.
Nancy's Notions carries them:
http://www.nancysnotions.com/product...ding+system.do
and her shipping policy says to just add $9 to the US shipping cost.....
http://www.nancysnotions.com/categor...?intcmp=FFSHIP
I would definitely recommend them to any and all people who have long arms. They are a godsend! worth every single penny and then some.
Nancy's Notions carries them:
http://www.nancysnotions.com/product...ding+system.do
and her shipping policy says to just add $9 to the US shipping cost.....
http://www.nancysnotions.com/categor...?intcmp=FFSHIP
I gave in. After all the rave reviews for the Red Snappers, I located a set in Edmonton. They were pricy, but I get to use them as soon as I get the current quilt off the frame. About $20 more than if I'd shipped them from Nancy's notions. I think it was the times people are taking to load a quilt that convinced me.
So you must be doing the baste the batting to the backing then use it as a reference then baste the top to the reference line method? It looks slick. I'll be trying that once I get the current quilt off the frame.
Until your zippers arrive, I'd switch to corsage pins. No point in buying Red Snappers if you're switching to zippers, imho. Corsage pins can be found online at longarm supply places or locally at florist supply places and craft stores (not sure what those would be in Alberta, sorry).
T pins are probably the worst pins you could use, IMHO. They are not sharp, and I don't even like the idea of them going through my quilt fabric. When I pinned I used those yellow-headed pins. They're strong and sharp (enough) and they show up when I drop them on the carpet. Now I use Red Snappers. I tried pinning, then Velcro. The problem with Velcro or zippers is that you still have to attach the fabric to the leaders, which means sewing or pinning. Red Snappers solve the whole problem and they come off very easily. I use Red-E-Edge clamps for the sides too, and love them as much as the Snappers.
Do the RSs ever deform the fabric with how firmly they install?
I would probably look at the Red E-Edge clamps if I hadn't built the side leaders that Sharon Schamber uses.
I laughed out loud when I read this. The people in the food court of the mall I was walking through thought I was a nut. This settled it for me.
I now have red snappers for the take up roller and the backing roller bars. I also used them for the quilt top but haven't finished the quilt now on the frame. So, not sure if I'll remove them from the quilt top when I get to the bottom of it.
Re: red snappers ... I couldn't put the rods together and had to get help from a fellow quilter's husband [he's an engineer and I knew he wouldn't harm my red snappers.] Also, the first few times using the r.s. will probably require more time and hand pressure. Mine took me a bit of time but at my friend's home her r.s.'s were easier to put on.
I also have the magnet bars from Harbor Freight so I can float my top. Just haven't used them yet.
Re: red snappers ... I couldn't put the rods together and had to get help from a fellow quilter's husband [he's an engineer and I knew he wouldn't harm my red snappers.] Also, the first few times using the r.s. will probably require more time and hand pressure. Mine took me a bit of time but at my friend's home her r.s.'s were easier to put on.
I also have the magnet bars from Harbor Freight so I can float my top. Just haven't used them yet.
What was difficult about assembly? It looked straight forward in the video I watched, but if there's a gotcha....
How do the magnet bars work? I don't think I've heard of that before... or is this the same as quiltingloulou mentioned above?
#19
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: England Alton Towers
Posts: 6,673
I have a longarm and I stitched a piece of fabric very well onto the thick ticking. I then pin using any pins but I have recently started using curved safety pins to the fabric. Much easier than pushing through the ticking.
Hope you find your answer.
Hope you find your answer.
#20
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Illinois
Posts: 9,018
There are quilting pins you can buy. I use ones with a flower head. They're long and the head is flat, so they don't cause a lump when you roll the quilt (not that that's a real bother). I took a class at one of the quilt shows with Linda Taylor, and she used what looked like corsage pins. They worked really well, too. Just make sure you get LONG pins, not short pins, or you'll be pinning for days!
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