Millennium Frame

I've wanted one of these for ages. Fortunately, the stitching gods (aka my mother) figured it out and got it for my birthday.

I'll be honest, it's everything I thought the Millennium Frame would be and more. The wood is the smoothest I've ever held in a frame, it is easier to put it together than any other frame, and it holds the fabric beautifully taut.

I got two sets of bars- 20" and a 30" (for a big project that I've been toying with the idea of for a while now) with the 8-10" stretcher bars. I don't think I would go for larger stretcher bars, tbh, because I'm unlikely to ever need more stitching space than that.

The frame itself is very clever and exceptionally easy to put together. Each of the top/bottom bars has these grooves in them, which you can push you fabric down in-

 and then place rods in to keep it in place. 

When you insert the side bars, you can then simply twist to get the stretch you want, and excess fabric on the top or bottom can be rolled under like with normal frames.

And voila!! I think, even without reading the instructions, it took me maybe 5 minutes to get it set up the first time.  

The better thing though, is that there is no stitching to keep in in place, and no need to take it off the bars at the end of stitching. You can just release the tension on the sides, and its all good. Even better- if you want to transport it, you can just roll up the fabric there and its no time to set it all back up again once you get to the place you want to be.

It is amazing at how taut you can get this fabric. I'd forgotten how lovely it is to stitch on something as tight as a drum, and its just beautiful!

My only criticism is that my lapstand is possibly slightly too small to hold it. Its not a real problem, and it does work, so I certainly can't claim it is something that makes me unhappy.

I was pretty sure I'd like it, but I had no idea how amazing it would be. The wood's craftsmanship is incredible. I keep stopping and just holding the side handles and caressing the gorgeous wood. I'm so in love with this!

Word to the wise- if you share your space with others, it's probably best to point this little card out to them as a Do Not Throw Away item.

I presciently did so with my other half who confessed two days later that it would have gone in the bin several times over. And really, it's possible to live without it, I think. But it's ever so much handier with it. 

And lastly- I'd also recommend these-

They're designed to pop onto the ends of your frame when its not in use and I cannot tell you handy it is! Its only an extra 3 quid, but well worth it as when there's no fabric, the dowels can be quite slippy and like to fall out. These just make that not happen.

Anyway, if you've been coveting these- get one. You won't regret it.