I recently heard that some longarm quilters use zippers to put the quilts on the frame. Do you use zippers? Do you like them? Is it faster? How do you use them? Where do you get them?

I just pin to my leaders. zipper sounds faster but you still have to attach the quilt to them and get it centered. Some may find zippers faster but I'm a beginner so any way I do it , it will be slow LOL

I pin to the leaders.

I have a Gammill long arm. When I purchased the machine, it came with a set of zippers. I also purchased another set at the same time. The only instance in 3 years where I have had to 'unzip' the quilt to put another one on, was in an emergency rush job. Normally I would say it was not necesary to buy them and just attach the quilt to the leaders. Either way you still need to measure the fabric and mark the center of the leader to make sure that you get the quilt on evenly.

I just pin mine to the leaders which are attached with velco but, I just ordered a set of Red Snappers!!! I am so anxious to try them on the next quilt (which may be next week).

I am a pin to the leader, but interested to know about the red snappers!

I got it at http://quiltsonthecorner.com/

Youtube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdESb8_p5ec

Thank you for that, I am thinking that would be a great addition to the system.

I pin to the leaders and then sew basting stitches across the top to hold the whole sandwich in place. I hate getting stuck by pins so after basting I remove the pins. I have extra leaders so if I need to remove a quilt I can just slip one set of leaders off and slip the next set on...hasn't happened yet so you can probably get by with one set. I never thought the zippers looked all that time saving but those Red Snappers look interesting, I know several people who have purchased them and seem to love them.

i (wish) i had the zippered leads, it (seems) like it would be faster to just machine baste the quilt & backing to the leads then zip them onto the frame...
but i have regular leads so i pin...
next time i need leads though i am thinking i want the zippered ones...but it will be awhile before i need new leads...