lindasewsit Posted September 12, 2016 Report Share Posted September 12, 2016 Hi! I am wanting to square up my leaders, but not sure how. I have zippers and I zipped the back leader to the front "back" leader. When I roll it up, the zippers are off about maybe an inch (lining them up with the bar ) What can I do to get them squared and lined up? Thank you! I know I have read that if they "pull in" at the sides that's no big deal as long as they are square the other way. Mine are off some. I can tell it is the the leader on the front side. My leader for my top is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srichardson Posted September 13, 2016 Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 Hi Linda, Here is a link to past discussions about squaring up leaders. http://forum.apqs.com/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=search&fromMainBar=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srichardson Posted September 13, 2016 Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 Well for some reason that link didn't work. If you enter straightening leaders in the search box that should work. I don't know what I did to change the type. I think I had better give up for today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loraquilts Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 I just went through this on my machine. Here's what I did. 1. Zip the backing leader to the take up leader. 2. Roll the leaders all the way to one side and then the other, careful not to unattach the leader from the bar. You'll want to do this several times using the motorized fabric advance. When rolling back onto the backing bar, make sure you continually smooth out all the wrinkles as you go. 3. Set your horizontal channel locks so that you can stitch a line about an inch or more away from the zipper edge. 4. Measure the line you just stitched - distance from the zipper edge. Measure both ends and a couple places in the center. 5. If you are really off by a lot, you will have to remove the zipper from the most offending leader and reattach it. You can do this without taking the leader off the frame, but it takes a little finesse. Line the edge of the zipper up to the edge of your stitching line (the one you made with your channel locks on). Pin carefully. Then you can put your channel locks on again and sew the zipper in place. Note: your zippers will be attached so that you have tension (backing leader to take up leader). 6. Do the rolling back and forth thing a few more times, then run another stitching line with your horizontal channel locks on. Measure again. Adjust if necessary. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaMissy Posted September 21, 2016 Report Share Posted September 21, 2016 great info! any suggestions for doing this if you do not have zippers on your leaders? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMALKB Posted September 21, 2016 Report Share Posted September 21, 2016 I have a Millenium..............can the leaders be removed from the roller bars to make attaching zippers easier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted September 22, 2016 Report Share Posted September 22, 2016 Linda: I don't have a Millie, but I do have an Ult 2, and the leaders on it were just glued to the rollers. My guess is that is still the way APQS attaches the leaders. I just pulled them off. To attach the new leaders, I used double sided tape. There is a manufacturing seam on each of my rollers. I aligned the tape with the seam, and the aligned the leader with the tape. After the leader was attached to the double sided tape, I reinforced the connection by using some masking tape part way around the roller and the leader perpendicular to the leader edge. They've held just fine for six years. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loraquilts Posted September 22, 2016 Report Share Posted September 22, 2016 I've done just what Jim has done and am soooooo sooooo soooo thankful for the manufacturer seam on the rollers. Sure made lining up the new leaders a breeze. I put the leaders back on the roller aligning the edge of the leader (which in my case was a selvage edge that I assume is square). I put small vertical strips of duct tape on the leader about every 10". Once it's all hanging in place nicely, I put long strips of duct tape horizontally centering it over the leader and the roller making sure to keep the edge of the leader touch the manufacturer seam on the roller. Smooth down firmly as you go down the roller. Once that is all finished, I flip the leader over and apply glue to the leader then carefully flip it back and smooth it in place. Roll it up tight and let it sit for over half an hour to give the glue a chance to cure. Voila! Perfect leaders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loraquilts Posted September 22, 2016 Report Share Posted September 22, 2016 If you don't want to go through the remove-replace leaders and do not have zipper leaders, here's what I would do. I would pin the take-up leader to the backing leader making sure there was a consistent overlap between the two (say one inch along the entire length of the leader). Making sure the overlap is consistent will be critical. To make double sure that the two leaders wouldn't come apart when doing the rolling back and forth thing, I would probably do a basting stitch by hand along the whole thing. Then follow the steps above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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