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Love my new zipper leaders


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:rolleyes: It took me most of the day yesterday but I love my new zipper leaders ,I have only done three large quilts since I bought my machine ,that was enough pinning for me ,it was cutting my quilt time back ,now when I get in the mood its a breeze . (I liked the pinning during the learning process)
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I have zippers and red snappers. I use the red snapper almost all the time now and love them. When I had zippers I stapled the backers to the zippers, well really gross grain ribbon attached to the zippers. Goes super quick and doesn't damage the fabric in any way. You turn the plate on the stapler and the staple ends point out instead of in. When you're done you can pull them out just like pins.

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So being really new and practicing right now...I don't know much about Zippered leaders and I've only watched the video on how to use the red snappers...what is everyone's recommendation of which is better and easier to use? Is there a video out there on how the zippered ones are put on and used?

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So being really new and practicing right now...I don't know much about Zippered leaders and I've only watched the video on how to use the red snappers...what is everyone's recommendation of which is better and easier to use? Is there a video out there on how the zippered ones are put on and used?

Here is a good video link, Ann. I love my zippers!!

http://sunrisequiltstudio.blogspot.com/2009/06/zipper-leader-tutorial-part-4.html

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Both systems have pro's and cons. Red Snappers are, in my opinion, far easier/faster to load quilts; however, they are bulky and I use a little extra length on the backing so the snappers are no where near my machine where they tend to get caught on the back of the Mille's thread cutter. At first they are tight and a little harder to snap; however, after the first quilt; they are stretched and a breeze.

Zippers are a snap to take a quilt on and off if you have extra zippers to load a second one; but you have to pin or staple (good idea, Heidi). Zippers are also good for loading another quilt if you need to take one off and do another in a hurry and also good if you have a large section to frog; you can take it to a comfortable chair. You can also take quilts off and put back on again with your Red Snappers. Again, in my humble opinion both systems are far better than pinning directly to the leaders.

You will probably find an equal number of people loving each system and will still need to decide what would work best for you.

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Both systems have pro's and cons. Red Snappers are, in my opinion, far easier/faster to load quilts; however, they are bulky and I use a little extra length on the backing so the snappers are no where near my machine where they tend to get caught on the back of the Mille's thread cutter. At first they are tight and a little harder to snap; however, after the first quilt; they are stretched and a breeze.

Zippers are a snap to take a quilt on and off if you have extra zippers to load a second one; but you have to pin or staple (good idea, Heidi). Zippers are also good for loading another quilt if you need to take one off and do another in a hurry and also good if you have a large section to frog; you can take it to a comfortable chair. You can also take quilts off and put back on again with your Red Snappers. Again, in my humble opinion both systems are far better than pinning directly to the leaders.

You will probably find an equal number of people loving each system and will still need to decide what would work best for you.

Well stated Lisa. I agree with all you've said.

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Guest Linda S

Yeah! Zippers where the very first thing I sewed on my long arm. I have three or four quilt sets, so I can load another one on the zippers while IQ is stitching for me. I even have a set of flip-zips, so I can turn the quilt upside down to use nice thick bobbin threads on the top.

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If you have a serger that can do the chain stitch it works great for putting backs and tops on zippers...to remove you just pull one thread and it unravels (like opening a dog food bag) or sometimes I use my DSM and lengthen the stitch length to around 4mm. Both ways are faster than pinning to the zippers for me.

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I think those zippers are THE BEST investment I have made as far as "tools" since I got my Millie. So much easier to pin on a quilt while sitting at a big table than standing at the machine doing it. Sure saves my lower back ! I have extra sets, too, and have, on more than one occasion, had to take one quilt off to work on something else. I tried the stapling, but didn't care for that. I have a small sewing machine down there now and will give it a try to machine baste the quilts to the leaders. YEP, those pins can be wicked and I have raked my hand across them more than once. I even put a box of band aids in my tool box. haha I used the Red Snappers for a while, but didn't care for them as much and sold my set. To each his own...............

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I have zippers and Red Snappers together. I sewed 1/2 zipper to each machine leader and 1/2 zipper to another leader that had the Red Snappers attached. You do need to have the backing about 1- 2 inches longer to allow for the Red Snappers to go under the leveling bar when you start the quilt. When I get to the bottom, I take the Red Snappers off the bottom of the top so the Red Snappers is not in the way. Love using both at once. I never use pins and my fingers are grateful.

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