Q-snap tips?

[vanessanjf]

I have recently been converted to using Q-snaps. They really are fantastic to use and I can see why you all love them.
I was just wondering if any of you have any tips for using them with very large projects. A lot of my projects are huge and I would appreciate any tips you have please.

[Oriettait]

I just move them around as i go.
I also use some scraps of thin felt to protect the stitched areas when I put the clamps over them and help with the tension.
I found the q-snap huggies to be a good help too, mine is home made and kind of floppy as I made it too wide, but it keep the extra fabric tucked in so it does not gets in the way and cleaner.
Hope this help

[vanessanjf]

Thanks for the tips. I guess my real problem is all the excess fabric I have around my qsnap. Do the huggies hold a lot of spare fabric? Some of my projects have a LOT!!

[Oriettait]

well the ones I saw for sale does not look like they would hold a lot.. My mother made mine and we ended up cutting the fabric wider than we were supposed to.
at the beginning I was kind of disappointed but then I realized it worked well to hold the excess of fabric. I just use some pins to hold it back in the areas where it tend to get in the way.
here is a picture of mine

[vanessanjf]

That is very impresive. Yes yours does look like it would hold more than the shop bought ones. Maybe I need to think about making a home made one then

[rcperryls]

The store bought ones do come in different sizes. I tend to like the 8 x 8 size q-snaps, even on the larger projects I have and I don't have to much trouble folding the fabric up into the covers. I have 2 that are 8x8 and one that fits 8x11. There are larger ones for larger qsnapes, but that is about as big as I like it to go. I have also seen people using large hair clips to hold the extra fabric. And a few who just let it hang loose like they do with a hoop.

Carole

[MaggieM1750]

I have to keep my fabric tucked up, under my snap cover. Out of the way.. or I would quickly get lost and tangled. And it is surprising how much fabric can hide under there. After I put my fabric on the frame, I roll the excess, starting in a corner and rolling it on the diagonal. Then I sort of wrap it around the frame and put the fabric cover on.
But I do think you are probably better off making your own so you have a little bit more room. I've bought all mine.. they are maybe 3 inches wide. So, make it another inch wider? Although.. too much fabric tucked under the cover makes the whole thing somewhat difficult to hold on to. Not only is it heavy, but its a lot to fit into your hand.

[Parksfarm]

Hi Vanessa - here's what I do with mine when my QSnaps get larger than the covers I have... Since the fabric is folded with the front side in, it keeps it clean and out of the way. This one is pretty large 450 wide x 684 stitches high and these work really well.

[vanessanjf]

Thanks for posting that Dana, that really helps. I am going to try it that way

[bookknurd]

Mine hold plenty of fabric (I have store bought ones). The only one project I really have issues with is my Giraffe Silhouettes which is on a huge piece of 18ct Aida. The aida is pretty stiff and takes up a lot of space when rolled up. I just put up the excess in some binder clips and cover what I can with the fabric cover.

[Wen]

I hope it is ok if I ask a question here to. This way I don't have to open a new topic.

Do you all have multiple sizes of q-snaps? So it is more in tune with the size of your work? Or just one that you find the most manageable, and not work-size related? I want to order with 123stitch, but I have to make shipping to Europe worthwile, so I want to know if I will/need to order 1, 2 or even 3.

[MaggieM1750]

I use an 8x8 or an 8x11 frame most often. I bought 8x8 and 11x11 frame set and mixed and matched the pieces as needed. I don't think you could buy just a pair of legs at that time like you can now. (I've had mine a looong time)
I need my projects to be portable and those frame sizes fit my project bags best. I use regardless of the finish size of a project and move it around as needed.
I find it difficult to hold onto and work in the middle of an 11x11 or larger frame. It would be different if I had a stand or something for it to rest on. I thought the 6x6 frame too small to really get any work done before needing to move it.

[Wen]

Thank you Maggie! I will go ahead with my plan then and buy the 8x8 and 11x11 and just move around.

[stitchnsew]

I bought an 8x8 and an 11x11 and mix them up, and alway stitch with an 8x11 . I use tissue paper over the stitched area when I put the clamps on. I don't know if I really need that minimal protection, but I feel like it doesn't rub at the stitching as much when I put them on and off. Even so, I've cracked a number of clamps putting them over the thickness of stitching, so I've also bought a few replacement clamps. The cracking seems to especially have happened with the 11 in length.
And I sometimes need an additional piece of fabric between the unstitched fabric and clamp if I need to increase the tightness.
As for the qsnap covers, I use an 11x11 over my 8x11 frame and that holds my fabric well. It was suggested to me to buy one size larger of the covers in order to hold all the fabric better. I do wish they were maybe 1 inch wider though, it would have covered over the excess fabric just a bit better.

[Borgessa]

I've got more into sewing in recent weeks, and have found the qsnap covers very easy to make. So you can make them any width you want. For the 8x8 frame all you do need is a piece of fabric long enough about 5 inches wide, I went 5 and 1/2 inches. The fabric should be 8 inches 4 times so 32 inches long, plus one inch for seam allowances. A piece of fabric 33 inches long, your elastic needs to be half of that, so 16 inches long, plus that extra inch, so cut two pieces at 17 inches - to make things easier for myself, I iron the sides folding over about a quarter of an inch onto the wrong side to hide the raw edges, once ironed on both sides - I then pin the elastic at the top and bottom edges and one in the middle. Stretching the elastic I sew it over that raw edge I just ironed on the wrong side. Do the same on the other side. (I actually sewed it on each edge of the elastic to give it more support. Then obviously ya just join the two edges together. This way you can customize it to any width you want. 11x11 same thing, 11x4 plus one inch - total 45 inch - plus the width you want it to be- elastic 22 inches plus one in total 23 inches.