Want to buy a quilter's frame

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I am searching for a quilting frame to purchase or build. I want the kind that a quilter uses to stretch and clamp a quilt on while working on the quilt (quilting). Help!

-- Evelyn Owen (owenall@lwol.com), December 08, 2000

Answers

Check Keepsake Quilting DW

-- DW (djwallace@ctos.com), December 08, 2000.

Quilting frames are fairly easy to build. I've seen some fairly creative ones and some simple ones. The frame we use at the local quilting club is just 1x2 inch boards that are held at the corners by screw clamps. The frame supports are boards that stand upright that are attached to about a 12 inch square base. The top of the support has a slight notch cut out for the frame to rest flush in. I recently acquired (thanks paul) a more individual style of frame. The legs are very similar to saw horses. In each end of the top bar they cut out slots. You simply take the quilt and fasten it to 2 1x2 inch boards....one on either side...you don't fasten all 4 sides of the quilt..just 2. Then roll the quilt under kind of like an old fashioned scroll and then slip the ends of the boards into the slots in the saw horse frame. The top bar is also tapered a bit on the ends so it is a slight slope instead of a sharp corner. I wish you could send pictures over this forum. Takes a long explanation for a very simple design.

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), December 08, 2000.

My quilt frame is like Amanda's--my husband built it for me. To attach the quilt, I used two strips of heavy muslin slightly shorter than the 2" x 2" poles were and folded them length wise. I left the folded edge free and stapled one strip to each pole. When I had a quilt basted (safety pinned as I'm lazy) and ready to go, I used a long back stitch to sew the quilt edge to the strips of fabric. Roll them up, set the poles in the slots and stitch away. I liked to start in the center of the quilt and stitch outwards on each rolled length, reposition to a new part and repeat the process. There's enough room on mine to have 4-6 quilters offset along the quilt for a "bee."

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), December 09, 2000.

At our quilting club we have two 8ft. saw horses with holes large enough for a very large nail about every 2 inches along the top board then we have two long, about 8ft., 2x2's with a hole drilled in each end about 6" from the end. There is heavy canvas tacked along one side of each saw horse and along one side of each 2x2. By setting the saw horses parallel to one another you can then lay the two 2x2's across the saw horses to form a large square with the canvas strips all on the inside of the square. You then place your backing in the frame pinning it to the canvas then lay your filler on top and then pin your top on, working to get it even and squared up true. We then baste all around the perimeter and sit dow and start quilting[after our resident quilt designer drwas out our quilting lines]. I know all the books tell you to start in the middle and quilt out but we never have and neither have some of the 80 yr. olds who quilt with us and our quilts are always beautifully done, if I do say so myself. We sit along the the 2x2 sides and quilt when we get it quilted as far as we can reach we lift the nails out of the holes and roll the 2x2 and hold it in place by putting the nails back thru the holes in the 2x2 and into the top of the saw horse. It really works well. It does take up a lot of space but I'm told this is a take-off on the the same thing they used to have on pulleys and raise up to the ceiling when they weren't quilting, only the used chiars to rest their frame on instead of saw horses. Boy! I wish we could draw pictures too.

-- Artie Ann Karns (rokarns@arkansas.net), December 13, 2000.

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