Looking under quilt on long arm
 

Hi everyone. I'm so excited to have recently purchased a new long arm machine. I remember reading ideas from others about how to see the quilt backing while it's on the long arm. I believe one person taped a hand mirror to a long stick so she could slide it under the quilt to make sure the tension was good on the back side. I was hoping others could make suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

I crawl under with a flashlight. My old eyes could never see under that dark through a tiny mirror

Funny you should mention that. My DH said he could probably figure out a way to attach a small flash light to a mirror. He also mentioned some tool at Sears that is used to see under a motor that might work well.

I still can't see crawling under with a flashlight. I do a block, or part of the border on one of the edges, then release the tension on the belly bar and unroll the quilt a bit so I can flip the edge over & take a look. If the tension is OK, I don't look again. I will say that I usually do all the same kind of quilt (quilting cotton tops and backings, w&N or w&W batting) and use the same brand of thread in top and bobbin, so I don't usually have any issues.

i am one of them that every once an while i stop and go around the machine and look
underneath with a flashlight to make sure every thing is sewing okay. crazy but that
works for me.

I go to the other side of the frame and look under. Usually only quilt in the daytime so I don't need a flashlight.

I saw a mention of someone using a door mirror. Their husband mounted it somehow under the frame.

My machine frame has a table so I place a full length mirror under the quilt and view with a flashlight for illumination so I don't have to bend over all the time.
MaryKatherine

I do crawl under with a flashlight. I enjoy lying there under the table and looking up. It is so relaxing. I wish I had owned a longarm when I was younger, so I could have hidden from the kids under there, LOL.

There is a company that makes a system with a camera to let you see the bobbin stitches. I think it's called Quilter's Eye. There's also an Innova dealer who has published directions for making your own bobbin camera. The results are displayed on a monitor that can be attached to the longarm head or nearby. I haven't seen the need for this for myself, but I can see how it could be very useful.

i have a 12" square mirror tile that lives on my long-arm table- it is flat enough that it does not get in the way of quilting and when ever i stop, want to peek i can simply pick it up & look-see how the stitches look. works well for me.

You could also use those strip magnets from Harbor Freight to hold the quilt sandwich down onto the belly bar. To see the underneath, just remove the magnets and lift up the quilt.

I use a flashlight and a large hand mirror.

I use a door mirror..lay it on the back table. Most of the time I just run my fingers over the stitches on the back of the quilt..you can feel bad stitches.(Most of the time);)

I also use a door mirror, it just lays on the table under the machine. And you don't have to shine the light at the fabric to illuminate it, just shine the light on the mirror where you want to look and it bounces and shows you the underside of the fabric.

Good idea to use - with my digital camera!

You have a great sense of humor.

Agree that you can feel bad stitches - and tucks in the backing, too!