CBingaman

I am new here. I am sure this has been asked before. While researching longarm (still looking for my first) Prodigy says to find quilting space on their machines, deduct 18" from the length. So a 10' table would be 102", a 12' table would be 126" of quilting space. Is this true on all manufacturers? I am really liking Prodigy or Innova. They look somewhat similar. Also, how often do professional quilters see quilts larger than 102" in width? I might be able to squeeze a 12'. 14' is out of the question. Thank you in advance for your help and advice.

feline fanatic

Hi and welcome to the board.

I have an Innova and my 10 ft table (aka a rack) is 10 feet from outside edge to outside edge. But I have less than 10 ft of available quilting space. Room at the sides is taken up by the supporting structure of the rack and you also lose space from the machine head itself. You also want to have room at the side to change bobbins and attach side clamps. So yes, I would say the Prodigy explanation of available quilting space is pretty much spot on and pretty universal to most rack setups. I don't like loading anything over 100" on mine.

As far as professional quilters getting quilts wider than 102" I have had to turn down several jobs due to my restriction and I really wish I had a larger rack to load some quilts sideways. Most King size quilts are wider than 102". If you can squeeze in a 12' rack in your space do it! I wish I had but I would have been very hard pressed to get a 12' rack in my dedicated room.

soccertxi

I am also an Innova owner and have a 12 foot table. I have only quilted one king sized quilt with one coming up. I didn't enjoy the first king, but just added a computer so might feel differently after the next one. Think about what you want to quilt, your budget and your room size. I have a 14 foot room with that 12 foot frame. I have it snugged up to one wall and have enough room to get around the other end. If we downsize, I might replace the frame with a 10 foot frame depending on what my new studio's measurements are.

petthefabric

My LA is 12' and the largest quilt width is 110". This gives the space for extra size of the back, space for the machine on each end and frame space. Since this is the length I like for king size, it works out fine. The is no pillow tuck.

Macybaby

I've been able to mount backing that is 130" on my table (12' HQ) and still have enough room to deal with the machine. However the quilt itself was closer to 120". It did not matter that I had the backing closer to the ends than the machine would go as I wasn't going to quilt on the extended backing.



I started out with a 10' Grace frame (different setup) and quickly realized that was going to cause me grief on a regular basis - so I moved it to my dining room and set it up 12'. Now I've got the HQ set up in another building.

Barb in Louisiana

I have a 12' table with a Nolting head. I lose about 10 inches at each end. You always need extra on each side just to load the quilt so you have an extra 2 or 3 inches to load that you won't sew on unless you are testing after a bobbin change. Ask me why I do that.

I did load and quilt a 110 x 126 on mine. I loaded it with the 110 across and the 126 as the length. There was a little bit of extra room, but not much. If I was buying a new table right now, I would buy a 12 or 14 foot, although I don't have that many more king size quilts in my future. I only quilt for me, so I can make sure I stay within the boundary of my table. Of course, you can always do a QAYG of parts of it and sew it together afterwards. Not something I have tried and don't want to.

Edited to add: What is just as important to me is the throat of the machine. Mine is a 24 and will only let me use about a 14" panto on my frame. If you are going computerized, you may want to check out how big of a design you can sew without rolling the quilt. That saves more time than you realize, because each time you have to get everything lined up again. I can tell you from experience, that you do get better at rolling and relining up the quilt.

ClairVoyantQuilter

If you’re quilting for yourself, you can be in control of what size tops you make.

However, if you’re planning to quilt for the public, a 12’ would be better. Aside from giving you the ability to quilt any queen sized quilt that walked thru your door, you’d have a little extra room to “park” your machine for bobbin changes, oiling, etc.

Macybaby

Had another thought - there are times I turn my quilt sideways due to seams in the backing or the way I want to quilt it. Sometimes I've turned a quilt to the border in one pass instead of 20" at a time going down the quilt.

quiltingshorttimer

while shopping for a LA, I was looking for a 12' but found my Gammill used with a 14' table. I'm glad now that I have that extra space--I can load those big quilts either way (lenghtwise or crosswise) depending upon any seams in the backing and the design, and still have room to get to the bobbin area, attach a practice piece, etc. I quilt in the basement so have the space for it. I'd say go with the biggest you can find space for, especially if you plan to quilt for others--I have a couple of other LA quilters that sometimes send customers to me due to large king size quilts that they are uncomfortable working on.

Tothill

Depending on your room you may be able to put your machine diagonally across the room to allow for longer rails. There was a post on the HQ Facebook page where people talked about setting up their long arm in their living room. If you do not entertain often that is an option too.

The HQ website has info on the spec sheets for each machine letting you know how much room you need around the machine to operate it comfortably.