Originally Posted by
greenirish43
I have been researching longarm machines and have decided that I will purchase one within the next 3-6 months. My delima is this - should I start out with a 16" throat, and then later (maybe 2-5 years down the road) move up in size, or should I go ahead and buy an 18 or 20" and then just be done. I love quilting, have been quilting for years, and plan to quilt as long as possible (I am 51 years old) so I do think that I'd have several years to use one. I have quilted on my domestic machine and find that it hurts my back to pin baste, so that is one reason I'd like to get a long arm. Right now I have 7 quilt tops that are finished and ready for quilting.......Yikes! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
When you try them out try different lengths it depends on how comfortable your reach is because I know people who have bought longarms too large for them and end up having to trade in. 20 is where I am most comfortable but I would get the biggest size you are most comfortable with