You may have noticed last week in a photo, that I am rolling onto the top roller first, which is backwards to how most load. Here is the photo again…
I do this to help straighten off grain backs. I do it on all backs, as none are prefect.
- After loading the back on the top rail, I then attach to bottom rail (with my amazing leader grips).
- Now I roll until there is one wrap on the bar.
- Now I pause the rolling and tighten the back as tight as I can. This seems to pop the grain into submission! Then loosen off again and start rolling the back off of the top bar, onto the bottom bar.
- If the backing is really off grain, on the 1st step where I roll it onto the top bar, this is what happens….
When I get a bad one like this, as I re-roll onto the bottom layer, I attach the backing to the bottom roller, even to where it attracted to the top roller. See the black mark on the canvas in the picture above? I have marked all canvases with marks every 5″ to help with this purpose.
Now as I re-roll onto the bottom layer, I pull on the edge of the backing ( in the above example I would be pulling on the right edge) so it lines up with the correct spot. It is a little slow, but is worth the effort.
Now as it sits on the roller, it takes on the new proper grain!
After you load this way a few times, it becomes fast, and solves a lot of issues…..and in the process saves even more time, and time is money…..
Till next week I am finishing my holiday in Iceland! I hope by now I will have had Internet to post some of my Iceland blogs, hope you are enjoying them. I will be home just before the next Tuesday tip….
Rose City Quilter 