Oh, and I forgot to mention the side anchors. Instead of cloth, my machine uses very large clamps attached to strips of velcro. There is a strip of velcro(the opposite of the "hook & loop") secured to the side frame. That way, all I need to do is release the clamp when I want to advance my fabric forward to work on a new area. Using the clamp with velcro strip means quick & easy adjustment for any size quilt. I took a long arm machine quilting class and was told that it was very important to stabilize the sides of the quilt. Howver, ONLY the backing gets clamped/secured on the sides, not all three layers of the sandwich. I hope this helps. Very hard to explain in words. Wish you could come to my "Sweat Shop" (that's what hubby calls it) and see for yourself :lol: