Q-snaps

[Rachal Langwith]

Ithought maybe I was using the snaps wrong until it worked with the

evenweave, but maybe I really don't know what I am doing. Has anyone else

had this problem? Or does anyone have any advise?For the record, I got very good service from Cross Stitch Zone (located in

BC, Canada) and thanks goes to the nice lady who gave me the link...I'm so

sorry I can't remember who it was.--

Drisana

Even with the stiffest aida, I have no trouble keeping drum tight tension on

the fabric when using q-snaps. If the fabric goes a little slack, just take

two of the clamp on pieces (use ones that are opposite each other) and while

still clamped in place, rotate the clamps towards the outside edge of the

fabric. Or to put it another way, put your right hand on the clamp on the

right side of the q-snap and your left hand on the clamp on the left side of

the q-snap. Rotate the clamps, right clamp to the right and left clamp to

the left. Your fabric should tighten up nicely.Rita Liesch

What I do to keep my fabric taut is cut 4 pieces of felt...just slightly

smaller than the bars. I place my fabric on the frame, put a piece of the felt

on top, then put my snap in place.It works wonderfully!!! Plus won't have to worry about snagging your stitching

or fabric with the snaps..:)Hope that helps ya!!

KrisWIP:

Bass Fishing by Designs for the Needle (for my dad for Father's Day).

Webpage displaying photos of all my needlework.

If you don't happen to have any felt around, you can use almost any fabric that

has some substance to it. It sure works for me! Another thing you can try is

switching the clamps -- but, really, the felt or fabric should do the trick.

Since discovering Q-snaps, I've gotten rid of those pesky hoops that leave

creases and, even worse, marks. I think you'll feel the same way once you get

accustomed to them. And yes, Victoria, you *can* get the drum-tight. At least

I have!

Lee

But I think I have just the thing to put between the clamps and the fabric.

I'm not sure if it's the same stuff you're talking about but it's like a

loosely woven placemat dipped in spongy material. It's meant for putting on

a picnic or patio table. It should be perfect. Thanks for the advise.--

Drisana

"InStitches" wrote in message

news:ErTM6.205$FW....@newsfeed.slurp.net...

> Darn, I was hoping Q-snaps would be the answer. I like my fabric tight

> too...I mean so you could bounce a quarter off it tight.

>

> Which makes me wonder...what is everyone else's preference?

Varies with my current project... though I do have two in q-snaps right now..

and when I have them tight (I loosen... well most of the time.. between

stitching sessions) they're pretty much that tight... sounds like a drum

tight...*But* I do notice that I occasionally have to twist the clamps a bit to tighten

while I work... and after enough times of doing that, sometimes remove and

replace again as they've worked their way too far around.I'd suggest you seek either the advice of someone "in person" who has been using

them a while, or see if someone around here has a good picture of how they look

when in use properly. It took me a few tries to figure out how to get the

material settled square, with the clamps in such a way that they'd keep it tight

*and* not put odd pressure in a different place on the material.-Liz

Just be sure to remove that stuff if you lay your project down for a

while, since it might just disintigrate & you'll have plastic stuff in

your project... I'd think a natural fiber fabric might be safer, say

some wool or felt?Just thinking out loud...Bobbie

I like to pull my fabric tight. Most of the time I use Q-snaps, unless I have

a motif that's small enough to sit in the middle of a hoop with no marks left

to iron out, such as a Christmas ornament. A couple of years ago, I asked my

husband for a scroll frame, thinking "hey, I'm a serious cross-stitcher now, I

need the serious cross-stitcher thing!" The woman at the shop tried to sell

him Q-snaps, but he was a good boy and bought what I wanted. I used it for one

project, and haven't used it again -- I might dig it out later, though. I did

several things wrong that first time, and I want to give it another chance. A

scroll frame just looks so...serious!Katrina L.

I tried the Q-Snaps after reading how wonderful they are. I can deal with the

smaller one (8x8), but the bigger sizes are just too big. I also find that the

Q-Snaps get heavy after a while and I feel it in my wrists. Some folks have

suggested I use the QSnaps on a frame, but I'm just not ready to buy get a

frame. Others have told me how they prop the QSnap on their legs or arm of the

chair as they stitch. That's not for me either.Just wondering if anyone else has this problem with the QSnaps and if there are

any other suggestions.Thanks!

Mims

I just read an interesting booklet by Pat Allen on crewel embroidery.

She maintains having the ground drum tight at all times. However, I

disagree with this - and wonder how one does stem stitch (for instance)

on drum tight fabric. You can't at all, in some circumstances, and with

some difficulty in other circumstances, work *some* stitches with the

ground absolutely tight. Particularly those stitches which are

naturally done in a sewing motion (thread in/out in one motion). Of

course, different grounds maintain different tensions when mounted, and

I've done these stitches on very tightly stretched fabric - with a

sewing motion. But other grounds prevent this.Many have learned to do fabulous cross stitch in hand - others prefer a

hoop or frame of some type.I realize this is a "poll", but I wanted to interject for the simple

reason, those who are reading this newsgroup don't all do cross stitch;

it's not quite clear exactly *what* type of embroidery you're referring

to; and, I wanted to point out that the type of stitching one does may

require a different approach to fabric mounting (or not mounting at

all).DianneRhiannon wrote:

>

> Rhiannon looked up from petting a cat to read what "Drisana"

Drisana wrote:

>

> Darn, I was hoping Q-snaps would be the answer. I like my fabric tight

> too...I mean so you could bounce a quarter off it tight.

>

> Which makes me wonder...what is everyone else's preference?

I work in hand unless whatever I'm stitching really

requires otherwise. Most of what I do involves a variety

of stitches, some of which are more easily done in hand.Ericka--

The return address on this message works, but it goes to an

account I weed out only on occasion. To send me email, send to

my first name dot my last name at home dot com

and watch the spelling ;-)

>Darn, I was hoping Q-snaps would be the answer. I like my fabric tight

>too...I mean so you could bounce a quarter off it tight.

>

>Which makes me wonder...what is everyone else's preference?

The only time I've ever had problems with Q-Snaps and Aida was when I

purchased a piece of aida from h*ll that had an almost slippery feel to it.

I used the grip-it shelf liner (I have small pieces cut up specifically for

the QSnap emergencies) and it worked perfectly.Good luck with them though. I wouldn't be without my QSnaps !Shannon

I always have my fabric tight enough to bounce quarters off of - and the

only way I've managed to achieve this, particularly on a large piece, is

using the QSnaps. Hoops work great, but I find they distress or damage

stitches that I've already made on the piece. And roll bars ? Even with an

engineering degree, they're beyond me. LOL - People tell me they're simple,

but things never end up as tight as I want :(Shannon

My mind works like lightning -- one brilliant flash and it's gone !

WIP:

Angel of Love (MLI) - WIP

Gillyflower Grace (JN) - WIP

Summer Sampler (MLI) - WIP

Would someone please tell me what this is and/or provide a link? Thanks.

Stephanie

Alabama

WIP: Alma Lynne's "Noah Found Favor" sampler; Linda Driskell's Blue Bonnet

Spring SamplerFinished 2001: Kreinik Garden Sampler

Lorri Birmingham "Close to My Heart" bellpull

> I always have my fabric tight enough to bounce quarters off of - and the

> only way I've managed to achieve this, particularly on a large piece, is

> using the QSnaps. Hoops work great, but I find they distress or damage

> stitches that I've already made on the piece. And roll bars ? Even with an

> engineering degree, they're beyond me. LOL - People tell me they're simple,

> but things never end up as tight as I want :(

I should send my DH over to set up your scroll frame! I had a problem

with tension too, until I realized that I had the wrong size bars for

the stuff I was working on! Once I got the right size bars for the

fabric, with a bit of help from DH, everything got set up, and the

fabric is nice & taut! And it's even a cheapie scroll-frame, as well :)

Just so! As a general rule, I like my fabric "rather tight" (my how

equivocal that sounds). But my tools vary based on exactly what I am doing.

And this despite the fact that I do "only" cross stitch and hardanger, with

a fair number of sampler stitches thrown in for variety. I may use different

types of mount, or no mount at all, in the course of the same project --

depending on the varied properties and propensities of the specific stitches

involved. Atually, I factor in both ground fabric and working thread as well.

I've done no formal study of the matter, but I've "learned not to do *that*

again" with a variety of materials. For example, it seems to me that genuine

linen does not require as much tension and in fact responds very badly --

sometimes even unrecoverably :( -- to being overstretched.Susan

Same here... well, mostly... applies to most any work I do in a frame or

hoop.... if I'm using such, I like it to be very taut.OTOH, I also work in hand occasionally... sometimes more than others. Depends

on the project, where I'll be working on it the most, and how I feel like

working on the project (I've been known to change from in-hand to hoop and back

again at least once on something... and, BTW, you *can't* see the difference (at

least without a magnifying glass... we didn't do that) between the hoop and

in-hand areas on that... even though the material was far from stiff.-Liz

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