A few months ago, I decided I was at the end of my rope with scroll frames. They don’t keep my fabric tight, the screws get stripped and it is just frustrating. I am not a fan of Qsnaps, as they are awkward to hold. So I didn’t know what I was going to do. Then a friend told me about Edmunds Handi Clamps. So I found a set on Amazon and ordered away. When they arrived, I couldn’t wait to put my fabric for Mermaid Perfume on them and get started stitching.

Basically it has rods like scroll rods, but there is no slit in the rods. Instead, a clamp is used to secure the fabric like Qsnaps. I have always read about using felt under the clamp so that the fabric doesn’t get ruined. So, I laid the fabric on the rod, placed a length of felt on top and then added the clamp. I did the same for the other side. Wow! My fabric is taut! And they were easy to unroll and re-tighten. I am in heaven again! Then yesterday I beaded as much as I could in the open area, so it was time to remove the fabric from the scroll frame. And this is what my fabric looked like.

Oh no! The fabric is puckered where the stitched area is. I tried laying it out and pulling the ends, but it will not lay flat. What did I do wrong? Do I even want to bead it now? Has anyone else had this happen? I couldn’t find anything in the Facebook groups. So I went back to the package that the scroll rods came in and reread the directions. It does not say to use a piece of felt under the clamp. Ok, I did that on my own. I didn’t want the clamp to ruin the fabric. It does say to clamp the fabric and then to place a piece of batting, 4″ wide and the length of the rod, before rolling the scroll to reduce getting creases in the fabric. I did have a few creases in the ends, but the puckering is what I am worried about. So after some stressing and freaking out, I began to think about what I did wrong. The only thing I can come up with is that my piece of felt was shorter than the length of the rod. Basically it covered the middle, the design area. And since I worked on the project exclusively, I never loosened the scrolls when I was not working on it. So, I put the fabric onto my large Qsnap so I can continue beading.

I was able to get her tight and flat on the Qsnap. I do hope that when I take her off, she will no longer be puckered. She is so beautiful and I LOVE her on the fabric I chose. I waited so long to see all of her on the fabric. So fingers crossed I have not ruined it. The next project that I put onto these scrolls, will have a piece of batting, the full length of the rod and hopefully that will be perfect. Has anyone had their fabric pucker on their scroll frame? If so, how did you fix the issue?