HI all,

Anyone out there that can help me better understand the z44?
I know it's a no-baste system, but I'd always planned to use it in two ways - to hand quilt AND to keep everything aligned for basting.

Well, the first practice fabric i put on there to baste has buckles everywhere!

Anyone know the secret?

are you using the side clamps also? They usually take the tension out of the top.

That was going to be my question as well. I really like my frame and I never have buckles, but I have the side clamps.

I was using the side clamps - just one on each side.
I'm on attempt #2 and am putting the safety pins perpendicular to the poles instead of parallel... I should know tonight if it worked!

What safety pins? Aren't you using the "special tubing"?

Sorry - I think that was a little confusing.
I bought the frame to do both hand quilting and to pin-baste quilts for machine quilting on my home machine.
I thought I'd do the first one as a machine-quilting to get the hang of the z44....
to see if I can get it to come out evenly and all that.
If i'd hand qulited the first time I put the fabric on there and pulled it off with as much buckling as I saw, I'd be in tears for sure!

I'll upload some photos this afternoon....

I'm pretty sure that I'm doing something wrong, but I can not figure it out.

I bought the Z44 in hopes to use it in two distinct ways: #1 to hand quilt on it as it was designed.
#2 to use it to baste a quilt on, take it off the frame, and machine-quilt it on my sewing machine.

I have tried the latter first with some trial fabric and after three attempts, still have the same problem.
The fabric I considered the back was fine without any bunching of fabric; it looked perfectly basted.
The top, however, looks like it was not stretched correctly and there are big lumps of loose top fabric.
While I was rolling the quilt on the Z44, there was no indication that this was a problem.

I have not used this to hand-quilt yet and I wonder if the bunching/loose fabric will happen when it's hand quilted?

Anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

I emailed a version of this message to Grace Frame this morning to see if they can help.

Did you ever get your answer?

I have a Z44 too, and love it. I hand quilt on it daily, but have never seen those puckers & bunches before. I also have never pin basted a quilt on it.

I am curious as to the fix for your question.

Steve