Is it better to purchase leaders or make them? What is your opinion? I can find it by the yard for all 3 pieces or buy it in the package or make from scratch just not sure what to do to much information I am overloaded. I don't even have the silly frame yet and I am already worried about these things.

Save yourself a big hassle and buy them. 'Not that expensive.

Ok well said :)

I had a bolt of muslin and wanted to have the leaders and had not bought them, so I made them according to the directions with the frame. Not any trouble at all to make them.

The ones you purchase don't seem to stretch the way most of the canvas does. I am mush happier with the purchased ones plus I bought the zippers. A real plus. You zip your quilt on and off. Very convenient.

I think I asked a similar question not too long ago..... But I additionally would like to know more about the installation of the zippers to the leaders. Does one side of each zipper go on each one of the leaders on the frame and the other side go on quilt top, back and finished side of back, bat, top? Hope that question makes sense. Are there directions anywhere?

I don't use zippers, I don't need them. I have had homemade leaders and now HQ leaders. I will take the new HQ leaders any day of the work over the homemade ones! They are worth the money and premarked with lines.

I recently made leaders for my frame. I bought 3 1/2 yds of duck canvas from Wal-Mart for about $4.00 yd. cut it in 3 pieces and turned the edges over and sewed a zig-zag stitch alone the edges. They don't stretch at all and I'm sure the edges will never be ripped out or stretched out of shape like the ones that were on the frame when I got it.

I made mine from a ticking cloth and used industrial Velcro on them and bars.

mine has ticking canvas and is attached with sticky velcro also.
i thought about the zippers, but a professional quilter, here on the board, convinced me that unless i quilt professionally, and i intend to have more than one going at the same time, i really didn't need zippers. pins are what i use and they're fine. and on youtube, you can see that sharon schamber uses pins. once you baste across you don't need anything.

the ticking with the measurements is excellent for centering the quilt parts. you can buy them ready-to-use at http://www.baysidequilting.com/. there are probably a dozen other places, some cheaper, but that's my favorite go-to.