Jans Netcraft has a neat tool that I bought for pulling the pads up thru a tube halfway before sliding the rubber band in the middle. I am pretty meticulous with my colors and have added as few as 2-3 strand of accent but typically half pad or 10. Other than that I do go to 60 strands and have even stacked up two skirts on a jig to make a big profile and slow fall, haven't caught anything on it yet, but I haven't stuck with it too long either. Check out barlows, stamina, and netcraft for supplies