My machine has 7 1/2 ". After I pin baste my quilts I roll from each side to the middle so it resembles a long hotdog bun. Then I quilt from the center, unrolling as I go. The last queen size I did I tried pinning the roll on the left side so it wouldn't unroll while I moved the quilt. Most of the quilts I do are queen size, so I'm getting better as I go. Trying more designs than just stictch in the ditch. (SID)