Ninnie

When I made this quilt I had some requests that i show the steps to placing it in my floor frame and getting it ready to quilt. So, yesterday I got off my b### and moved all the Den furniture around and set up my frame and today I finally have it ready to start quilting.

Here are the steps I have taken so far. You will notice that the frame has 3 poles,the back one and the middle one, the gears run to the back. the front one, the gears run to the front.

Ninnie

here are pictures of the gears. Now that it is pinned to both the front and the middle, you set the gears on the middle pole, and release the gears on the front pole. then you roll the backing all unto the back pole.

Ninnie

Now I set the gears on the front and middle and tighten the backing until it is smooth, and running straight.
Next is the batting. Since this is such an old pattern, from the late 1800's, I am using cotton batting, It is Hobbs, 80-20, which I really love to use, and it hand quilts beautifully. While laying it out on the frame, I discover that it is going to be too wide. So, I decide how much I need to trim . then I do the first cut, and then fold it over , and keep doing this until I have all of the side trimmed off.

Oklahoma Suzie

Thanks for posting the pics.

Ninnie

Next I pin the batting to the front pole. then I will roll both it and the backing all on the front pole , sitting the gears in the front and releasing them in the back. One thing that happened, when I laid out the batting, i found a place that looked like it was stretched out of shape. Knowing that it was about a foot too long, I turned it around and placed the bad part in the back, where it won't be a problem. You will notice that the backing and the batting go on the same middle pole

tslowery

keep going, I would love to see more

Ninnie

So now we have the batting and the backing all rolled up on the middle pole. Now comes the fun part!!!! Putting the top in. I measure the middle of my backing and mark it.

Ninnie

Then pinning the quilt top to the front pole. You will notice that it is pinned to the batting and the backing, and not to the frame. You can look down the line and tell if you are getting it in straight. I have marked the center of the border all the way around, so I will know I am centering the border patterns. then I will roll all 3 pieces onto the front pole

Quilter7x

You're doing a fantastic job showing us how to put a quilt in a frame. Thank you for taking the time to do that and share it with us. :D

Ninnie

now I pin The Quilt Top to the last pole. making sure that it is also running straight. Right now we ahve all the layers rolled up, and the gears set on the front pole, so I can get it good and straight. Then I release the gears on the front, and set the gears on the middle and back poles. winding each of them one, and then the other until all of the quilt is on the back and middle poles. hen it is just tightening until you get it the right tension you want to quilt it. As I go along, I will sometimes have it looser than other times. Again you should be able to look down the length and see that it is straight.