do you need for a longarm? I have been offered one with a frame that is either 5 or 10 ft. My DH says I can have it if I find room for it....so, please help me as to the least area I might need. Thank you.
Nancy

Well I have seen some people put them into a garage. I got rid of the twin beds out of a hardly used spare room for mine. I do have another spare so hubby didn't squalk to much about that.

If I were given a long arm, I would find a place for it, that is for sure!

I am buying but it is very reasonable. We don't have a garage, but actually have a huge house...it is just full of years of collected things. I have a room available I just need to know if it is big enough as it is small and right now has scrapbooking in it. :roll: (mine and a friends)...Thanks

Ten ft. is a common length for the frame and one end can be put fairly close to a wall. You have to be able to walk around it, so obviously, you wouldn't want it in a ten ft. room. In terms of depth, the frame is maybe 2.5ft. in depth, and you need work room on both sides, I'd say at least another 3 ft. So, you're looking at a minimum footprint of maybe 13 x 9.

You are correct - they do take up a lot of room. The other thing you need a lot of, IMO, is light, so although a basement might seem to be the ideal place for one, consider how you are going to provide the light.

Thank you, that is very good information.

I've always wondered how it would to sleep under a long arm machine -- that might be the only way I'll ever have one :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I did ask about putting in our bedroom which is quite large... :mrgreen:

I laughed at your post but in my case it's almost true. I have a mid arm and wanted a frame. I bought a Grace frame knowing the only place I could put it was my bedroom. My room is 10 x 11 with a chunk taken out for the closet. I set up my frame and have enough room for my twin bed. Some people didn't understand why I would sacrifice my bedroom for a frame but they don't quilt so I didn't expect them to understand. I love it and it works great for me.

I like it...wake up at night, do a little quilting.

It might fit in a smaller space if it is placed corner-to-corner in the room. I would *definitely* find the space for this!!!

That was my original idea with mine, but it made the room very awkward because there was no direct way to cross the room without walking around it. I think it would depend on what else is in the room, where the door is, and the general orientation of everything else. In order to fit mine in the room, I had to remove a couple pieces of furniture, but I thought I could live without them.

One other thing to consider is that with some frames, you can have multiple sets of rails, so that you could possibly keep it normally set up at, maybe, 8 ft., but switch it over to 10 or more when needed. Mine is the Superquilter and it's very easy to switch out the rails.

I'll post pix if you'd like, but it will take a couple days to get my camera back.

I think that if you are getting a long arm you will find the room for it. even if it is in your bedroom. I would love to have one but with two kids and only three bedrooms in my house that are small there is no way to do it. Unless I take over my moms house and live there during the day. quilting at nap time would be good to do.

We took out our kitchen table to make room for my Tin Lizzie on a 10 foot frame. My DH said he would be glad to take the couch out of the livingroom if I wanted it there. We eat in the livingroom now. Priorities!

I have my longarm on a 10' frame with 36" on each end and 48" between the belly bar and the wall..the other side is facing my sewing area. I have plenty of room to work on either side of Miss Lizzie. I personally wanted a 10 foot frame to do large quilts..for some reason I seem to be making quilts larger and larger..oh well..keeping the fabric shops in business.
Here is a little tip...I use a car mechanics rolling stool, craftsmen..when I load the batting and backing on the bars it really helps to be able to see things better. I am not bending over..but at eye level.

Thanks for the tip! I have an Inspira frame I have been trying to get set up for some time now (on what used to be our front porch)....not a lot of wiggle room!

Ditter

Yes, this one can apparently be 5 feet which is what I thought i would start withl

That is why I a getting this one, the gal that had it got an absolutely huge one...with computer. So I got lucky, really lucky as she offered it last summer and I could not figure out how to afford it. Since then it is all I have thought about. DH has bought some items since that were spendy so I asked and he said yes if I can find a spot. He has a nice large shop, hmmmm, wonder how he would like to move out there. ;-)

wow, make room for it!

You could always build a loft bed and sleep over it.

:lol: :lol: where there's a will, there's a way -- right??? :lol: :lol: