Customer Ratings: 
List Price: $129.99
Sale Price: $78.92
Today's Bonus: 39% Off
I needed one of these right away since I am trying to finish a quilt for a charity quilt auction and am on a deadline. I was able to find one yesterday at a newly enlarged JoAnn's Fabric Shop, locally, in spite of the information at JoAnn's website which said that they were not available in the retail stores, only online. I called the local store just to check, and they said they carry them, so I went out and got one. It was over-priced compared to the price on Amazon, but I needed it quick, so I paid and brought it home.
Well, I don't even mind what I paid because it is really a very well-designed, simple but ingenious, sturdy little product! I set it up just from looking at the picture on the box, really easy. Took maybe a little more than five minutes. If you have a rubber mallet to tap the pieces together (gently) that is a nice help.
The long sleeves, that hold the quilt onto the side rails so you can work on it, are a great idea. They hold quite well, but are pretty easy to get on and off without damaging your quilt top. They also hold the batting/backing fabrics taut if you are just a little bit careful of how you put them onto the frame. That is a very nice feature. As you work, feel the underside of the quilt "sandwich" in various areas just to doublecheck that you have no big wrinkles in the batting/backing. You shouldn't have any because of how well this frame holds, but you should ckeck from time to time to make sure. You can even rotate the sleeves a little bit, once you have them on, to tighten up the fabric on the frame.
Mine has rubber grabbers on the feet to keep it from sliding away from you as you work, another good feature. I have not tried any alternate heights since the height that the legs were already on is fine for me. There is a nice-size working area. Just about as far as I can comfortable stretch to reach into the middle.
The PVC pipe is light to move around, but of a good, sturdy construction, and the size of the pipe is very good for putting a quilt over. I agree with another reviewer that the sleeves might be too tight for a very high-loft batting.
You can quilt best sitting on either of the long sides, but you can also quilt sitting on the short sides, as well, if you need too. Two people could easily quilt together using this frame, even four, but two might be best.
This really such a good product! I am familiar with a lot more complex and bulky quilting frames, and they are expensive. I am tying a single-bed sized quilt right now. If you were to do a king-sized quilt, you would have a lot of bulky overhang, which would be awkward, but you could still do it. Right now, I just pile the overhang on my knees under the frame, just to keep it out of the way while I work. You might have to do some serious folding and pinning to contain the sides of a king-size so you could keep that on your knees.
One thing about this frame that I have discovered, is that, once it it set up, you can't get it through doorways. Since it is such a good size for working on though, I can't really complain about that. Just thought I would mention it. Set it up in the room where you want to work. You will probably have to take it apart to move it into another room, unless you have a very wide doorway.
I am so pleased with this quilting frame! Once you figure out how to handle the overhang, which will certainly be harder with larger quilts, it is a breeze to reach under and work on the underside to return your needle to the top.
This is one of those rare products that is actually better than I expected.
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