Mary Beth Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 I know this has been covered before, and if I could find it I wouldn\'t be posting this message....I\'ve searched under zippers and nothing comes up. I\'ve searched under borders and everything comes up:) I am getting ready to turn a quilt to finish the borders. How do I do that with zippers?? Please... Thank you for your help!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramona-quilter Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Uh, doncha have to take the zippers off? But seriously, I can see the advantage of leaving the zippers on until the entire quilt is done (in case you miss a spot) but I think I tried rolling mine once with the zippers on the sides and it was not pretty. I\'m waiting to hear who knows how ot do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted February 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 I\'m really tring to figure out why I bought these zippers.... I was trying to get away from pins...but still have to pin. Ya gotta take em off if you want to do anything special. The only thing I think they are good for is my practice piece. I can keep a practice set ready to go and put it on between quilts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizziesgirl Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Mary Beth, I take the zippers off and re-attach them to turn. I pin baste the sides and leave them in, attach the zippers and load the quilt, sew baste the use to be side down while removing the pins quilt and do the same when I get to the bottom. That is the only way I have done it. Hopefully someone will tell us something else and we will both learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Mary Beth, I do mine just like Sheryl. I like my zippers though because it is easier to sit and pin onto the zippers instead of standing at the machine. I can also switch out my quilts if I need a break or have another one to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicquilts Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Mary Beth, I bought additional zippers. When I know I\'m planning on turning the quilt, I baste the zippers on all 4 sides taking care to apply the zippers in the correct configuration with one set top and bottom and one set on each side. Saves time for me. Vicki Finchum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattyJo Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Mary Beth I attach my zippers using a very long basting stitch on my DM. I can put on a set of zippers in about 5 min. When it\'s time to take the zippers off, just cut thru the last couple of stitches and you can rip them right off and pull out the threads. Very easy and for turning a quilt, wouldn\'t take but another 5 min to attach. A whole lot quicker than pinning (at least for me). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieBrewer Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 I bought an old ,rickety, singer that does a chainstitch. It\'s awesome but I did have to repair it as soon as I got it from ebay. Sometimes when people sell stuff they don\'t have a clue what Aunt LuLu owned. Anway, I paid $78 for it and paid $120 to get it fixed. $ well spent. When I\'m done w/the quilt, I pull a thread at each end of the quilt top and backing fabric and it\'s off the leaders. I don\'t even pin when I stitch it on. I just make sure the leader is on the top and the fabric is on the bottom of the leaders to minimize stretching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted February 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Marie, that is probably the Singer Touch and Sew. I have one I bought at an estate sale for $50. I used it a few times, then tried to switch it back to straight stitch and now it won\'t do either. I had a time with it almost stretching the quilt top - like dog eared. Maybe the tension was too tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizziesgirl Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Mary Beth, I have a Singer Touch n Sew and I finally have mine set on the correct tension. It makes the prettiest little chain stitches. I have no idea how I got it set so well just kept fiddling with it. Let me know if you get yours working, then I can tell you what mine is set on and that reminds me that I should write it down just in case it gets messed up. See ya have some writing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxooms Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 I sold my Singer Touch and Sew a while ago...got it when I was 12... Funny story...it would work well for a while, then I\'d start having issues w/it, so my dad would take it in to get fixed. Usually my mom would pick it up (she never sewed a stitch on a machine). Again after a while the same thing would happen, it would go in again, etc. This went on for quite some time, until I finally gave up sewing. Fast forward 25 years when I picked up sewing again (sold it in a garage sale by then) and voila! the light went on...I had NEVER cleaned, oiled, or even changed the needle (unless it broke). Duh! Wonder why I had trouble w/it. Now I\'m regretting selling it...It had those plastic clogs in it, definately an iconic machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted February 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Yep, cleaning and oil does help;) I bought this one at an estate sale and brought it home, took it all apart, cleaned it, oiled it. Read the directions and got it set up for chain stitch and it worked!! Then I took my real machine in for maint. and checkup and tried to set the Singer for a straight stitch and have not been able to do either. I haven\'t tried taking it completely apart again, but I guess I\'ll do that, and if it doesn\'t work I\'ll take it in for repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Mary Beth, I don\'t pin my zippers on except if I am actually pinning the quilt top. Ordinarilly I do a full float on the top of my quilt & then (I know this is going to be controversial) I use a florist stapler, to attach the zippers to the backing fabric. I turn the bottom plate of the stapler around so that the ends of the staples go out instead of in & then run a line of staples just as if I was pinning. When the quilt is done, I take one end of the zipper & pull the whole works off the quilt. If you do it fast you can get a few flying staples (I don\'t mind, I have a shopvac), but if you go a little slower all the staples will stay in the zipper, not in the backing fabric. I\'ve never had any fabric rip from pulling on it because the staples always give way first. They are no thicker than a pin. In most cases they are thinner. All my clients know that I do this & have never had a problem with it. I do have to replace 1 complete zipper about ever 1-2 years depending on how many quilts I do. When I was doing over 200 quilts/year I would replace once a year, but since I\'ve added other irons to the fire & only do about 75-100 quilts per year now I only have had to replace on alternate years & that was just one zipper, although I currently run with several zipper sets, as I just save up a week or two worth of zippers that need staples removed from them & then just sit & pull out the staples while watching a quilting show (then I still feel like I\'m working ) They aren\'t hard to take out as they slide out similar to a straight pin. When the zipper gets a little worn, I simply put it in the washing machine on hot water & it revives the fabric edge of the zipper so that I can get many more months out of it. I know that some quilters will complain about having to replace a zipper each year or two, but quite honestly, it takes me between 5-15 minutes to completely load a quilt from start to finish now this included unloading & taking out staples at the end (figuring I would have to unpin otherwise). When I did a time test of the difference it would make, it saved me appx 10-15 minutes per load depending on the size of the quilt. I figured on 100 quilts that still saves me 1000 minutes minimum, that is almost 17 hours saved. I average $30-$40/hour in quilting & my other endeavors, so that comes to $510/year minimum in time. To me that is a significant amount, so spending $14 for an extra zipper every other year is well worth it. I consider them disposable to a certain extent & replacement as part of doing business. I know that this approach may not be for everyone, as know it is a bit scarey at first , but it is an easy way to load with zippers & easily remove them if you need to put on another set in order to turn your quilt. Ok, now if your doing something on heirloom or vintage fabric I may not take this approach, we all have to use our heads about this, but for regular good quality fabrics it works great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsessedquilter Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Since we are talking about zippers maybe you can all give me advice. I\'ve used the zippers three times now. All three times the fabric starts to bubble up and stretch while I am sewing it on. That means the backing is not centered on the tape by the time I get to the end of the seam. It has all shifted. I\'ve tried easing it in, but that didn\'t work well. This last time, apparently I sewed too close to the edge of the fabric because when I put it on the machine and rolled it up, some of it came unstitched. Do you turn the edge of the fabric over first before applying it to the zipper. Also where on the tape are you sewing? I was under the impression that you should sew close to the teeth. But then I had the problem with the small seam allowance giving away. So what\'s the secret? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Oh also, the florist type stapler is easy to find. I was using that description as a visual. It is a hand held, squeeze type, all metal stapler that you can find at a lot of office supply stores. Mine is "Rapid" brand. I went through 2 regular staplers & 1 chincy handheld the first year, before I found this one. It was $15 & the staples are about $4 per box of 5000. I go through about 3-4 boxes per year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathyb Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Mary Beth, I love your idea: "The only thing I think they are good for is my practice piece. I can keep a practice set ready to go and put it on between quilts." I think I\'ll have to do that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And Jess, I\'m definately going to try the stapler! I love this site!!!!!!!! Thank you ladies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Those of you trying the stapler for attaching backing to zippers. Here\'s another thing that I forgot to add about it. I put two staples at each end of fabric as it is attached to the zippers. This helps the last stapled spot to hold while you zip on, as there is a little tugging going on & it actually can let loose a little when there is only one staple. So just double staple at the ends. I have actually stapled my own tops to the #2 roller also, without any problems. But I don\'t do it with customer quilts because I just want to make sure I\'m on the safe side with those. I do find that I don\'t need to put in nearly as many pins in the tops on zippers either. I just put in enough safety pins so that the quilt is attached to the zipper enough that I can get it rolled on. I figured that all I really needed was it hooked up evenly enough to start rolling. As you roll the top around the roller bar it creates a friction hold which is enough to keep everything going well. I unpin my #2 roller for the quilt top as soon as get to the point where the remainder of the quilt top can be seen between the rollers anyway, so I figured what the heck am I pinning all these pins for anyway. They aren\'t holding the quilt top as I finish it up anyway, since I baste the edges as soon as possible & get rid of the pins, so why bother to put so many in to begin with. This is when I do pin the quilt top instead of full float. I usually only pin the top if I know that the quilt top is unruley or very light colored & I don\'t want to take any chance of it getting dirt on it from brushing the floor in my studio, but often even then if I know that I will be doing the whole quilt in a day I will just fold the top up on itself to keep it off the floor until I\'ve done enough of it to keep it up high enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Oh ya, I will also tell my husband that His idea was appreciated. He\'s the one that thought of the stapler. He is always analyzing the most efficient way to do things. He\'s been doing it so long that I automatically think about that now when I start a project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramona-quilter Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Jess, I have a question on your staple idea. My pin goes into the canvas/zipper first, then into the fabric so if I stapled would that mean that the long cross piece of the staple would be on the zipper and the two legs of the staple would be on the fabric side? I need a photo, here. So do you staple thru both your backing and batt at the same time and then float your top? And then to remove...do you unzip then pull or pull the quilt sandwich while it is still on the machine? I have to tell you that this sounds weird to me. I don\'t think I would do it for a baby or lap quilt, I can pin those pretty fast now. But a queen or king takes forever to pin. If this process saves time, well, you know. Time is $$. Is this the stapler? I saw this at : http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/149633/Classic-Plier-Stapler-Chrome/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Linda, That is the stapler! I also just staple my zipper to backing fabric then I layer , my batting in & then the top, so that only the fabric & zipper are stapled together. I lay my backing folded in half (right side out) on my cutting table. then lay the zipper #3 on top & staple. Then I flip that layer out of the way & I do the backing half that will be at the top of the quilt with zipper #1. I start at the center & move out toward the end on each of the edges, just as if pinning. Then when I am done with the quilt. I unzip it from the machine lay it on my table, checking to make sure I have everything quilted (yes, I have missed blocks or areas occassionally - live & learn) & that all is well as far as thread on the back, etc then I just pull the zippers off & trim as usual. BTW: when I don\'t have time or don\'t want to pull out zippers I just wait until it is a week that is between paydays for my kids & then I can get them to pull staples for $1/set to make spending money -LOL:D . 1) Then I don\'t have to do it & 2) They make $5-$10 in about 1/2 hour. Works for all of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nineva Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 And....I solved the problem with replacing the zippers due to wear by attaching a wide piece of grosgrain ribbon to the edges of my zipper leaders. It keeps the edges perfectly straight as it won\'t stretch and absorbs all of the wear. When the ribbon wears out, attach a new piece and keep right on quilting! It is also MUCH easier to pin to than the canvas leaders. You can baste, chain stitch, staple or pin to the ribbon and know that your quilt is perfectly straight without stretching your leaders. I did the same with the side leaders I use ala Sharon Schamber\'s method of stabilizing a quilt. I don\'t use her method all the time, but when I do, I find it easier to pin through the ribbon than a heavy canvas or duck leader. Quack! Nancy Jo:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted February 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Good idea!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuiltingComforts Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Are you pinning to the actual tough fabric the zipper teeth are on??? I am stapling too and yes signficant time savings. I beefed up my leader fabric with beeswax to help the staples glide and added wool flannel layer in between the hem. Seems to be working fine but it is early in the process for me. Thanks for all the terrific info. Cindy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 I have been stapling right into the zipper fabric but I think I am going to beef up some of my old ones with the gross grain ribbon as suggested. The zippers that are a little worn allow the staples to come out easier, but eventually they just about fall out, so then I just save them for using on our practice pieces when we test out new designs or chuck them in the bin. I tried putting on a skinny ribbon to beef up an old set but wasn\'t overly excited about the results, but maybe the wider gross grain will work better. I just had trouble being satisfied with my stitching when I added ribbon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenMcManus Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Marie and Mary Beth, What model Touch and Sew do you have? I\'m wondering if all models do the chain stitch? I see a few listed on ebay, including a zig zag model, and a separate chain stitch attachment. Do most modern machines not offer the chain stitch? The manual for my Bernina is so not user friendly, I can\'t even tell if I have it. Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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