I have made a small baby quilt in the past that I only machine quilted by doing the stitch in the ditch with clear thread so all mistakes would not be pronounced, and it was difficult at best, trying to roll it up and maneuver it etc. I was wondering what the largest size quilt any of you have done on your machine? THere are probably tips and tricks I haven't learned yet that would make it easier or not? Or do you just opt to hand quilt or have it LA quilted etc?

I have done a oversized twin and I did a queen once but the owner made it in two halves and joinged them after quilting. Looked very pretty

Have done a queen and it was difficult (to say the least) but got it done!

Probably the largest I've done so far is 60x80 or so. I am going to try quilting in sections on the next quilt.

I find it easier to handle if I don't roll the quilt...I just fan fold or scrunch it up.

I did an over sized king on my DSM. It wasn't easy but by golly I did it and it came out pretty good.

maybe 16 inches by 16 inches LOL

Looking forward to hearing what others have to say on this. I'm relatively new to machine quilting and need all the tips that I can get. I have done a crib size quilt, but it was just straight stiching along the blocks.

Never done bigger than a regular size.

Twin size...most of the ones I do are a bit smaller 50x60. I find that supporting the weight of the quilt on my ironing board really helps. I just place the ironing board perpendicular to the left side of my machine. That way gravity doesn't pull the whole thing away as I am trying to sew.

I did a king with a Lily. Never again

120 inches by 110 inches - a very large king size - first quilt I ever did 6 years ago I did that on an Elna now I have a Viking Sapphire and they are much easier to do. :)

Join cjomomma doing this! The only way I accomplished this is to sit at the head of my machine like it was a long arm. That way both hands were free to maneuver the quilt. This is on a double bed, but see how long it drops, it's that long on each side of the bed....

I just did my first panel and my first attempt at quilting. I used painters tape and did cross hatched pattern. It came out great! I also used the board method to sandwich the layers and no puckers either! Now I want to try SID next!!

I'll probably not quilt anything larger than a lap quilt on my regular machine. I don't intend on making anything larger, ever.

I prefer to send the 'big ones' to the LA. I usually do full and smaller on my machine.

As one of the gals already posted, don't roll. I tried it ONCE and that was ONCE to many, I was fighting the roll the whole way. Scrunching the fabric is much easier.

My tips ~
Machingers gloves - help a whole lot, whether FMQ or simple grid work

Machine - surface is flat, either a acrylic table or the machine is in a cabinet.

Space - can also play a part, behind the machine AND on the side.

Quilt weight - keep as much of the quilt on your table surface. Set your ironing board to the left, for the bigger ones.

PRACTICE - FMQ does take (LOTS of) practice! But so does simple grid work and SID!

BREATH - lots of us when we start 'quilting' forget ;)

Quilting our tops is like making our quilt tops! We didn't start out on the complicated patterns. Baby steps before we run!

60 x 60. I wouldn't want to try anything larger.

When I get on my laptop I will post a picture of how I quilt on my DSM.

Someone above mentioned the "board method". I would like to know what that is?

I've wrestled with an oversized queen. It's quite a job...lots of tugging and pulling, but can be done. I'm piecing another right now that will be a real challenge. Until it's finished I'll be practicing on some that are lap blanket size until I'm confident with my FMQing.

Same here. I did a flying geese about 10 years ago and quilted in the ditch plus cross stitched each block. Love it. I'm doing my fourth queen SID with extra stitching in sashing and border. Yes, it's hard and time consuming but I love doing it. Just hope the recipient will like it. It's for my niece. She picked the fabric and I chose the patterns.

Queen size years ago - this time around, big lap robe - 72x80. Scrunch and work from the center out. Never have more than half a quilt to your right. I have two machines side by side so I have a large slippery surface. I used to use the ironing board, but slippery is better. Hmm, I wonder about putting vinyl from JA's on the board. It works well on the machines. FMQ is easier than SITD. You stay in one area longer so less alligator wrestling. Though I have to say, I haven't wrestled with this one and it's 72x72. Is it the plastic? I've not used it before.

Largest I have done is an oversized king. I did it on a Juki with 9" harp. Like others mentioned, scrunch and pool the quilt, don't roll it and start from the middle and work your way out. Quilt at a speed that is comfortable for you and just relax and enjoy yourself.

That's a good idea - I might have to try making a slippery ironing board cover....
It really depends on your sewing machine and your umph-- I quilted a queen on my itty bitty Brother -- lots of squishing and pushing into the harp of the machine - but I got it done! I have an old singer now that has a much larger harp - I didn't have to push to get the quilt into the machine, but I had to pull to get it onto the table :roll: was almost done before I remembered the ironing board that was sitting right behind me!

This is the monster I quilted on my DSM. It is on my couch which is a really big couch.

I SID'd up to queen-size. Now I need to tackle some FMQ. Same size.

I've done a queen sized quilt and it was a pain in the youknow. My neck, back and upper arms really took a beating. I love to FMQ on my regular machine, but anymore I won't do anything bigger than a baby quilt.

Inadvertant double post. Sorry.

I mostly do standard sized, baby sized and lap sized. but I have done queen sized. A bit of a bother on that last one.
John

I have done a queen size on my home machine. It wasn't the easiest thing to do and the thing I found that was the most helpful to me was the exact opposite of what the general instructions are for this type of quilting. Most instructions will say to roll the quilt up and put clamps on it and on and on. I found it very heavy to move around this way so I undid the rolls and just tossed the quilt on the table and bunched it up a little bit right around my sewing area and this one area of the quilt moved freely without the entire quilt having to move around all at the same time. This saved alot of pressure on hand gripping and on the ammount of drag the quilt had on the table. Hope this helps.
peace

EDIT: Nice monster!

I did a queen, my avatar. Please look into the many types of quilting as you go. (QAUG). There are several different techniques that allow you to quilt large quilts in blocks or sections. Do a search in the tutorial section.

a large king-
i took a class at a lqs to learn how and did a twin for the first one- did a few at that size- then did one very very large one- before purchasing my long-arm-
it was a struggle at times- but came out good and was a definite----learning experience.

I have a longarm now, but before that I mostly quilted in sections on my DSM. I could do kingsize quilts pretty easily that way.

anything bigger then 3 feet goes on my frame.

I have done a king size on my Janome 6600. Was a challenge but came out pretty darn nice. Quilting designs are pretty limited. Mostly stippling. I do start in the middle and worked out little by little the scrunching method. I have a huge desk that my husband designed so the bed of my machine is even with the desk top. Nice slick finish on the desk so everything moves quite easily. Takes lots of patience but the reward is worth it. The more I have done this the easier it gets. I wish to own a longarm some day so I can venture to bigger quilting designs, but at this point, I will do my best with what I have.

Sitting at the head - what a great idea! It's creative people like you who have me addicted to this board. Smart, smart, smart.

For queen and king sized quilts on a domestic machine: Another thing to try is to divide the batting. You can do it in thirds, fmq the middle first, then baste the right side of the batt in place, fmq that, then do the left. It's a bit more work, but does reduce the weight.

I mostly do meandering, but I have usually do Cal Kings. The middle is the hardest, but once you get past that it is smooth sailing.

I HAVE DONE ONLY 1 KING SIZE I HAVE NO DESIRE TO DO ANOTHER ONE THAT BIG 1 DONE IT FOR ME.I DID ONLY SID ON IT MOST OF MINE IS QUEEN OR BABY QIULTS OR MAYBE A THROW.

King size.

I've done twin sizes and smaller.Anything larger goes to a LA.