Boston Mom

Hello Everyone,

I am seriously considering purchasing machine and frame. I now have a Lady that does all my quilting but what I pay her for doing these, I could maybe buy my own.

I'd like to get some suggesting's on what is a good machine and also for a frame. Most all the quilts I make are Queen and Cal King. It doesn't need to be brand new one but I also want to make sure it won't fall apart in 3 months.

Thank you all very much and may God Bless all of you. Boston Mom

quiltingcandy

Are you in an area where you can take lessons and rent a machine? Before you invest several thousand dollars in a long arm set up you might want to make sure first it is something you really want.

Boston Mom

No, the closest place is 83 miles from where we live.

Prism99

You want to buy a machine and frame that are made for each other. For Cal King size, you need a 10' frame. For frame quilting, you need to allow some space at each side of the frame in addition to the quilt to allow you to change bobbins, etc.

For the machine itself, you really want as much arm space as you can afford. My Voyager 17 has 17" of harp space, which works well for me. More space gives you more flexibility in your quilting designs. I think you would need more than 17" in order to quilt a design within 12" blocks on point, for example. (This does not apply if you are doing an all-over design, or many pantographs.) 16" is about the smallest I would go; anything smaller is going to be quite limiting.

You also need to make sure you have enough working space for a frame and machine. Space requirements are often more than you think they will be. You need 14' to 18' of width to house the frame, as you need to be able to walk around the side of the frame to the back. For depth, you need to add about 6' to 8' to the depth of the frame and machine -- again, you need space to move around in front of the frame and in back of the frame.

Another thing to think about is setup. If you don't have someone around to help you, you might want to avoid a Voyager (because it weighs 70 pounds!). Most machines are lighter than that.

What is your price range? That is probably the most important question, as it will narrow the possibilities. I'm not sure what all might be available under $5,000. My own Voyager 17 with Hinterberg stretch frame setup runs about $2,500 to $3,500 in most areas. The Voyager is no longer made (it is a stretched industrial Singer), so that is the price used. Sometimes you can find them online at a somewhat higher cost.

A good way to buy used is to advertise at a local quilt guild. Members who are upgrading might be looking for someone to buy their existing frame. (That's how I found mind.) The advantage is that you can try out the frame before buying, and may even be able to get help transporting it, setting it up, and getting some lessons to get started.

quiltingshorttimer

Prism gives some good advice. Also check out major quilt shows and give different ones a "whirl" so you get a feel for them. It might be worth your driving to the shop that rents time on a machine and trying a class--some people do not like the quilting process as much as piecing and it's a big investment to find out that you don't like it!
Also check with any "local" dealers and see if they have any trade-ins that might be of interest.

jmoore

I have been test driving LA machines for almost two years. I finally have a new sewing room to house a machine, but it is a tough decision on making the final purchase. I learned on an APQS several years ago and now rent an HQ Avante but there are so many factors to consider. You really should test drive a few to learn and feel the difference and having local service would be nice.

I wish you luck...

momsbusy

I purchased a Pfaff Grand Quilter machine on a frame several years ago. I hadn't considered that the quilt rolls up in the neck area of the machine as you complete sections. I was severely limited on my quilting designs. I only had a few inches to work on. If you choose to make the leap, I would purchase one with the largest neck area that I could afford. Personally, I have decided to quilt by credit card any quilts larger than a lap quilt.

feline fanatic

I have a 26" LA on a 10 ft frame and I have a difficult time with any quilt over 100" wide. Most CA Kings are 108" to 110" wide. I find I don't have enough room at the sides when I load anything over 100" on my rack to test tension, put the side clamps on and have space to get at my machine head to change the bobbin.

If you mostly do Queen and CA King, I would strongly recommend going bigger than a 10' frame. If I had the space I definitely would have opted for a 12' and in a dream studio I would have 14'.

Frame setups vary greatly in price. You can get an unregulated machine like a Bailey Home quilter and a grace frame or a used set up for a few thousand. Here is a link to used machines to give you an idea: http://www.longarmuniversity.com/Mac...rSale.html#M4S

The prices go up from there depending on how many bells and whistles you get. A computer guided setup can cost tens of thousands.

Most people research for about a year before purchasing. I recommend attending a major quilt show and test driving as many different models as you can get your hands on. Maybe make a weekend of it and invest in a couple of classes to determine that you will actually like frame quilting. Your profile says Southern Illinois, so Paducah might be a show you want to attend. All the major manufacturers will be there with demo models.

There are many sad tales out on the net about people who thought they could LA quilt, invested in a machine only to be surprised that it wasn't as easy as it appeared and why doesn't my quilting look anything like the quilting my professional LAQ did. There are also many tales of elation and instant gratification and people who took to it like a duck takes to water. My best advice to you is do your homework and don't rush into anything.

Here is an interesting article: https://craftnectar.com/2009/10/16/s...achine-do-you/

Snooze2978

My 1st quilting machine was purchased on a whim. Luckily I got a great machine and frame to start out with, a Viking MegaQuilter 9" on a GracePro frame 10'. Shortly there after though I realized I wanted more throat space and found I could supposedly get this with an add-on to my robotic system PCQ. Well, that didn't work out as I planned and a friend of mine allowed me to use her stretched Juki machine 18" but a different but similar frame. So I got a Juki machine and had it stretched as she did. Then I moved to another state and went to my 1st quilt show. Some friends of mine with the same robotic system took me to one of the booths, Innova so I played with it and fell in love. I'd also checked with other dealers there and tried their machines. I kept coming back to the Innova. Then I had to make a decision which stitch regulator I wanted so found a couple quilters near me that would allow me to test their machines out with the various stitch regulators. Now I knew which one I wanted, which size machine and frame length. Now to start saving up for it. Well, my mother was living with me at the time and she saw a quilt top I'd made and she wanted it for her bed. I told her that she would have to wait at least a year till I could raise the money to buy the Innova as I wasn't going to try to quilt that big monster quilt on the system I had at the time. 3 weeks later she told me to order what I wanted with extras as she would pay for it. She wanted that quilt that badly I guess. Anyway, I tried out various machines, then decided what extras I wanted on it and also the fact that i could transfer and upgrade my present robotics to the new machine helped make my decision. Not all machines/frames are made the same. We all have likes and dislikes plus how we quilt makes a lot of differences. I was lucky that a quilt show came about the time I even thought about upgrading. I quilt for myself and a few friends occasionally only.

rryder

If you don't have room for a frame, you could also try the sit down models. With those, you move the quilt, just like you would do with a domestic machine, but they have a much larger throat so you can more easily fit larger quilts in them.

I quilt all my quilts on a Brother PQ1500s and have successfully quilted up to a queen size with it, but it is not on a frame, I use it as a sit down, like a domestic machine.

Like others have already mentioned, I strongly recommend that you spend some time trying out different machines. For frame quilting, you will need to learn how to load the quilt on the frame, and if it's one of the larger machines- either a true long arm (over 18" throat) or a mid arm (under 18" throat), you will probably need to be willing to do some basic maintenance like adjusting timing, needle bar height etc. rather than trying to haul them to a repair tech. The same will likely be true for the sit down machines like the HQ Sweet Sixteen.


Rob