straight line quilting on long arm machine
 

I thought I saw a thread on this earlier, but couldn't find it when I searched.

My question: Can I straight line quilt on a long arm machine?

Thanks!

of course. some machines you can *lock* your wheels enabling you to do straight horizontal or vertical lines- there are lots of long-arm rulers available and people do 'ruler work' for straight lines all the time- stitch in the ditch Is generally straight lines...

yes. do you have channel locks or rulers and a ruler base? you need a way to keep a steady line.

Yes you can quilt straight lines with a longarm. If you do not have channel locks on your machine then you will need to use a longarm ruler. To use any type of longarm ruler, or guide, with your machine you need to have a ruler base. This is a large platform that attaches to the bed of your machine. You can not use your cutting rulers with your longarm. They are not thick enough. Contact your dealer or look on your brand of machine website to see what is available for your set up.

Another thing to keep in mind, is that a channel lock will produce a perfectly straight line parallel with the rails. SO, you need to load your quilt very carefully. If it's not loaded straight (or not pieced straight) the quilting line might not follow your quilt. If I'm sitd, like around the border, I find it much easier to use a ruler than the locks as you can adjust the ruler to follow your quilt. You will need an extended ruler base.

I just did it yesterday ... straight lines on an angle. I used the Versatool by Handiquilter with the ruler base and had no problem.