Sharonsews Posted July 11, 2004 Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 I'm posting 2 in one day! Help! I'm working on a sampler wall hanging. Pretty skinny but long. 22" wide. The porblem is my pony clamps wont reach. Will it make a huge difference if I can't use them? Secondly, I'm trying to do some ruler work. I have the extented base on. If I could get the clamps on, the base would hit it and I couldn't get out to the edge. I saw somewhere to use yard sticks through the pony clamps to lift them. Does this help? Any one use a different technique? Hope this is making sense. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhintsa Posted July 11, 2004 Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 I have used the yard stick method to lift the clamps higher. It does work and especially nice went using the extended base. Maybe you could add some non-roll strecth elastic to your existing pony clamp elastic for this one project? I am thinking you could just pin the two pieces together? Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharonsews Posted July 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 Thanks Nancy:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Thomas Posted July 11, 2004 Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 When I first started I found my "sweet spot" to be left of the middle. (I since have adjusted my table so the wheels don't bind) I went down to the fabric store and found the elastic the same size as on the clamps. It was a simple job to sew them on and my clamps will reach the whole width of the table now if I want. Anything can be used that is long enough to fit across the rollers to lift up your straps. Yard sticks are the right size. They have the added advantage of holding your clamps in closer reach when you undo them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharonsews Posted July 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 Thanks Sandra:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda S Posted July 12, 2004 Report Share Posted July 12, 2004 I've heard that some folks are using the old fashioned sort of curtain rods instead of the yardsticks. They're a bit more sturdy, and those little bends at each end keep them from rolling off the rails. Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdrogers Posted July 12, 2004 Report Share Posted July 12, 2004 Hi Sharon Here is what I do when I have a smaller piece on that requires clamping. Since APQS supplies 2 elastic straps for each side I clamp one strap to the end of the other which makes them twice as long! I also place a corsage pin on each end of the straps to prevent them from pulling out of the strap holders when they are in the open position. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharonsews Posted July 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2004 Great ideas everyone, thank you:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary S Posted July 12, 2004 Report Share Posted July 12, 2004 Here are some ideas I read about pony clamps and gradually adopted. I have stopped using my pony clamps altogether, because they can get in the way while I'm quilting. And in addition to that, my elastic wasn't long enough to get the clamps to where I wanted them on small pieces -- as you have noticed, too. So I bought a very long length of 1" wide elastic, took out my pony clamps and replaced them with extra long lengths of the elastic, and now I have a long enough elastic to reach any piece I'm quilting, however narrow, from all four side clamps. And I use flat flowerhead pins to pin the ends of the elastic to the backing and batting on the sides where I used to put the clamps -- I pin them on after basting the sides so they don't distort the edges. Now I have no clamps to get in the way while I'm quilting, and I still have the elastic to keep the quilt sides held out straight. I tried this idea first by putting my pony clamps in backwards and pinning the ends of the elastic to my quilt top. It worked fine so I went to the next step and replaced them with just elastic, because the elastic was still too short. I also bought cheap short curtain rods and use them instead of yardsticks -- they stay in place when you advance a top, as the yardsticks don't, and work otherwise just as the yardsticks do to keep the quilt edges from drooping. Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharonsews Posted July 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 That's something to think about. Those clamps really hurt my hands to open all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k8 Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 We have a solution similar to the elastic one. We use 1 clamp and velcro. (I replaced the short velcro with LONG a long time ago, lol.) We then use a piece of non stretch fabric about 2 feet long - it happens to be selvedge that has been cut off about an inch wide but it could be twill tape or anything like that. We pin each end with flower head pins about a foot apart - and use the clamp on the resulting folded end. (If you are having trouble visualizing this, it forms a triangle with the quilt being one side and the pinned selvedge the other two. The clamp connects at the point of that triangle.) Two connections with one clamp and nothing to get in the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 One thing I have done to prevent the clamps from hitting the extended base and sticking......I removed the little rubber foot thing on the lower jaw of the clamp. Now when I get near the clamp, it glides up onto the base. No more sudden stops. Hope that helps someone. Sherri Dolly Overland Park, KS Mil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindy Skinner Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 I purchased clamps from Linda Diny of Calico Kitten for I think $15.00 that work great. It is like a piece of PVC pipe that you put on the side of the quilt, on the bottom. Then a second piece of PVC pipe clamps over the first from the top side of the quilt forming a long 12" clamp. There is a bungy cord inside the pipe that the normal pony clamp attaches to. Not only does it give consistant tension to the entire side of the quilt, it also extends the reach of the standard pony clamps by about 3-5" on each side. My husband also installed a regular metal pipe hanging from the ceiling the same size as this PVC pipe. When I finish a quilt and am ready to take a picture, I put the top edge of the quilt over the pipe and clamp it in place with the open PVC piece. It makes the quilts hang perfectly flat from the cieling so the pictures come out nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Last week I was practicing on a small baby quilt, and the elastic was long enough, but since I was using the extended base, the clamps kept getting hung up, even with the curtain rod trick. I ended up using a length of wide twill tape, folded in half and pinned to the quilt top, sort of a V. Then the folded end was attached to the clamp. Kept the side tensioned, and the clamp was well out of the way. This seemed to work, and it was pretty cheap...read free...so I guess I will keep the piece of twill in my box of necessary stuff. The twill tape was tied around a "Moda" bundle of fat quarters....says "Moda" the whole length. Who knew I'd use that before any of the fabric?!? Cheryl Liberty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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