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Our lovely postperson recently brought me a shiny new scroll frame. I basted my Coniferous Forest onto the webbing strips as per the instructions and rolled the excess fabric onto the bottom rod but I'm not at all happy with the tension. I like my fabric quite taut (I normally use a wooden hoop) and am finding that even when the fabric is rolled up until the rods won't turn any more, the fabric is still saggy in the middle and my stitches are uneven as a result. Has anyone else had this problem with scroll frames? Is there a knack to scrolling the fabric to keep more tension? I'd be grateful for any tips, as I don't want to give up on it just yet.

I've had this issue before and there's 2 possible solutions that I've found. First I have a question for you--are the edges of the fabric folded over at all? With my current model, the fabric has been folded over and sewn to prevent fraying. Because of this, the middle of the fabric will not tighten because there is more fabric on the edges. The other thing I've done is made clips to tighten up the sides. Here is a picture of what I'm talking about. I made my own with wrap around velcro strips and clips from Joann's. Some people have used mattress straps.

I use a twizzler to make sure the nuts are really tight

http://www.sewandso.co.uk/Products/The- ... -TWIZ.aspx" target="_blank

Thanks for the link to the stitch clips, Busy_B - I didn't even know such things existed! My fabric isn't folded at the edges, I just use masking tape to stop it fraying. I will definitely try the clips.

I've seen twizzlers before but never really considered using one. Maybe I should at least try it to see if it makes a difference.

Thanks, both, for your help and I'll post an update to let you know how I get on.

I recently bought the clips as I am doing a very wide piece just now and couldn't get the tension tight, they work. I got them in a few days from USA, wish some of our companies could deliver as quick!
Happy Stitching
Glen x

Well, I didn't find any clips in my local shop so I bought some velcro and sewed it onto the sides of my fabric (one pair each side at the top and bottom) so that it's looped around the side bars of the scroll frame - and it worked!!!! The tension still isn't perfect, but it's much better than it was and my stitches over the weekend have been a lot more even as a result. The only issue is that when I come to scroll the fabric up I'll have to remove the top pair of velcro strips and sew them back on further down but by then hopefully I'll have found some clips.

Many thanks for your help, everyone!!