108
Machine Quilting
Blessington- Sweet 16 with table
- Capri 18in with HQ InSIGHT table
Brother- VQ3000 11¼in
workspace
Sit-down machines
Bernina- Bernina Q20 or Q24 frame
Sit-down longarm and midarm
machines.
A good option if you want to sit
and quilt but want more space for
your quilt than a domestic machine
allows. These are often as costly as
the bigger stand-up frames. The
quilting movements will be the same
as quilting on your domestic machine
as you are moving the quilt, not the
head of the machine, as you do with a
frame-based set-up.
Quilting frames that will take a semi-
industrial quilting machine, usually
with a narrower throat.- Often a less-expensive option.
- Narrow throat space limits design
choices. - This set-up is quickly outgrown.
- Quilting frames and domestic
machines need to be assembled and
used on top of a regular table.. - Inexpensive, but putting them
up and down can be a very
inconvenient process that often
leads to under-use. (Think of the
exercise machine that slides to fit
under the bed ... and gathers dust!)
A decent throat space is important if
you are going to gain an advantage over
quilting on your domestic machine. Set-
ups with narrower throat spaces will only
allow for a small space of quilt to work
on, whereas the larger machines will
give you much more working area. This is
also a consideration if you want to quilt
pantograph designs with varying widths.
There is, however, such a thing as
too much throat space. Our arms are
only so long and accurate quilting will
only happen when we are working in
an area that is easily reached. If your
arms are stretched too far you will
lose control of the stitching and give
yourself back problems too.
All longarm quilting set-ups come
with one distinct advantage over a
domestic machine; it is much easier
to complete big sweeping designs on
them. This is because you can make
larger movements with your machine
in a smoother manner. The other
thing that longarm set-ups have over
domestic machines is that the quilting
is generally quicker, but that will
depend on the style of quilting that
you choose.
As a side note, it is usually much
easier to do stitch in the ditch
on domestic machines, so the
advantages go both ways.
These are some considerations that
apply to all types of set-up. When
you are testing out machines, give
Quilting frames