| Have you ever been mystified
by how longarm quilting works? Some people think that the machine
does everything automatically while the operator sits back and drinks
a cuppa! Others think that the customer still has to do all the hard
work in sandwiching the quilt. But, probably, the most popular myth
is that longarm machines are only capable of quilting "all over"
designs. All of these are untrue and by describing how longarm machines
work, I will demonstrate why.
Although much larger and more heavy-duty, longarm machines are
very similar to basic domestic sewing machines - but the area between
the back of the machine and the sewing head (the arm) is extended;
hence the term "longarm". The second most significant
difference is that a longarm machine has four pairs of wheels set
on runners that allow the machine to be moved around easily. Whilst
home machine quilters struggle with moving the quilt sandwich around
under the needle, longarm quilters have the sandwich suspended between
rollers and the operator moves the machine around. One pair of runners
run from side to side on the table and the other pair run from back
to front, which results in the machine being moved around easily
- particularly from side to side or from back to front - but the
wheels "fight" when a diagonal or circular line is stitched
and a great deal of skill is required to ensure a precise stitching
line or pattern. There are other differences, including that longarm
machines do not have feed dogs or fancy stitches, not even zigzag,
and the operator stands to manoeuvre the machine.
The sandwiching of the quilt is achieved by the top edge of the
backing being attached to the take up roller and the bottom edge
to another roller on the other side of the "table" which
is rolled so that the backing is taut. The wadding is placed on
top of the backing with the top edge of wadding in line with the
top edge of the backing and the remainder of the wadding left "free"
to hang. The top edge of the top is attached to the backing and
wadding, whilst the bottom edge of the quilt top is attached to
another roller, which is rolled. This results in the top 22"
of the entire width of the quilt being sandwiched ready for quilting.
This allows the operator to stitch the desired quilting design
on the exposed area, then the backing and top rollers are released
and the take up roller is rolled on to produce the next area ready
for quilting.
The myth that the only type of quilting available on longarm machines
is edge-to-edge has some foundation - this is the simplest and quickest
way of working a pattern on to a quilt.
A paper pattern, at least the length of the width of the quilt
(known as a pantograph pattern), is placed on the table top and
either a laser light or a stylus points onto the pattern. The operator
then moves the longarm machine, ensuring that the light or stylus
follows the pattern on the table; thus the pantograph pattern is
copied onto the quilt sandwich. The laser does not cause the machine
to follow the pattern - the skill is entirely with the operator.
After the pattern has been stitched onto the quilt sandwich, the
rollers are moved on and the pattern is followed again onto the
next section of the sandwich.
There are drawbacks with this method of working - first of all,
the piecing or appliqué design is ignored and there is no
opportunity to highlight a feature. Secondly, because the machine
is operated from the end furthest away from the needle, the operator
is unable to see the needle and has to watch the paper pattern,
not the stitching. Therefore, if there are tucks, textures or puffy
appliqué on the surface of the quilt top, these can become
distorted. Similarly, loose threads on the quilt surface can cause
a problem - the operator does not see if they become wound around
the foot (similar to a darning foot on a domestic machine) and they
can eventually prevent the machine from moving on.
It is possible to operate a longarm machine from the needle end
and achieve the same results as with a domestic sewing machine.
The only limitation is with the depth of sandwich available which,
of course, is limited to the depth of the throat of the machine.
Therefore, it is not practical to cross-hatch a quilt from top to
bottom in one length of stitching.
One of the difficulties with longarm machines, until recently, has
been that the speed of the needle is constant. The speed is variable
in that it can be speeded up or slowed down, but the operator does
not have the luxury of being able to press harder on a pedal to
speed up and then release the pedal to slow down, as with a domestic
machine. Consequently, the length of stitch is determined by the
speed at which the operator moves the machine. To put it another
way, the needle is stitching at the same speed, therefore when the
machine is moved fast the stitch length is long, whereas when the
machine is moved slowly the stitch length is short. A great deal
of skill is required to maintain an even stitch length whilst maintaining
good pattern precision.
However, there are now longarm machines available with stitch-regulators
where a computerised attachment determines when the machine is moved
fast or slow and regulates the stitch length by moving the needle
fast or slow accordingly, thus ensuring the stitch length remains
constant.
Many home quilters believe that the simplest form of quilting is
"stitch in the ditch" - but it is not as easy to achieve
on a longarm machine as it is on a domestic sewing machine. The
domestic machine operator controls the speed of the stitch with
a pedal and has both hands free to open up the seam, or ditch, in
order to ensure that the stitching falls as close to the seam as
possible. Because a longarm machine operator uses at least one hand
to move the machine, it is not possible to satisfactorily open up
the seam and it is therefore far more difficult to get the stitching
very close to the seam line and disappear into the ditch. Of course,
those of us with a stitch-regulated machine find it easier to stitch
in the ditch, because we have the luxury of being able to slow the
machine down or stop without the machine constantly stitching very
small stitches.
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