Saggy scroll frame?

[rockinwithrammstein]

I am pulling my hair out with this. I just bought a scroll frame and have my canvas in it, but for the life of me, I can't get the sides taut! They are saggy and it's really frustrating. Is it supposed to be like that? How do I fix it?

[Knittenkitten]

I've always had a problem with my canvas staying taut with a scroll frame. That's why I use a hoop or Q-snaps. Much easier to keep everything taut. As for your particular problem, I would suggest sewing a strip of fabric to the top and bottom of your canvas, basting the fabric to each end, and use the frame as normal. It might help but one of the others that actually use a scroll frame may have a better suggestion.

[rockinwithrammstein]

Thanks, I ended up handing it to my mom and you know what she did? She pulled the masking tape I used to keep my edges from fraying and told me to try again and then it was perfect -_- I guess I can't tape my edges?

[Knittenkitten]

Ahh. That might help. I never tape my edges so I never thought that others might.

[Eliste]

I've never taped my edges with a scroll frame so no idea how that would affect it. But I do know that people who seriously want tight frames will usually sew on a piece of scrap to the edges and lace the edges to the sides once the frame is rolled tightly. You can still break it down, put it back up easily enough like that, but you do need to re-lace when you move to a new section to work on if you do it that way.

[rockinwithrammstein]

I've never taped my edges with a scroll frame so no idea how that would affect it. But I do know that people who seriously want tight frames will usually sew on a piece of scrap to the edges and lace the edges to the sides once the frame is rolled tightly. You can still break it down, put it back up easily enough like that, but you do need to re-lace when you move to a new section to work on if you do it that way.

Yeah, my mother suggested that, too, but I didn't need it. She told me the size of my frame may be why I am having a problem, too. I have an 18 inch one...I guess the longer the dowel rods, the more likely it is to be loose...?

[funkymonkey]

Yep; I have to baste the ends of mine around the sides of my 18" scroll frame to get it workable.

[rockinwithrammstein]

I guess that's what I get for buying a scroll frame before knowing anything about them, right? lol...I guess I just love my hoop too much. Thanks for the tips, everyone

[Kujikiri]

I have this problem too, and it's really annoying. I did, however, find a minor solution for this. It's not a perfect fix, but it helps to keep some tension in the sides. If you have enough of a border around your work area, it should be tight enough to work with.

What I did was I cut one of those exercise bands to the width of the scroll, then I lined it up with the fabric a few turns before it would normally be taut. I do that with both ends. The rubber grips the cloth, and helps keep it from being loose.

The only thing is, I don't know how that affects non-basted or serged fabric in the long run. I've only run a bead of nail polish along the edges to help keep the Aida from running, but that's it. I don't know if it'll permanently stretch my fabric or what. But I suppose that's something that could happen even just with the scroll frame.

[Truut]

sometimes the problem is that the holes where the dowels go in to are just slightly too large (because a 5/8th dowel will not always be 5/8th of an inch :/ ), and no matter how much you tighten the screws it won't hold. try wrapping the part of the dowel that will be in the hole with a layer or two of electrical tape. i have to make the holes in my frames 1/16th of an inch smaller just to compensate for the dowels not being uniform.

another thing i think i might try soon for my 28 inch frame is to get some of those shelf liners that are grippy and adhering them onto the inside of the dowels where it will grip the cloth better in the middle of my project where the map i'm doing is sagging.