Longarm quilting patterns
A longarm is a quilting machine on a frame: the quilt is rolled on rails and the machine moves over it, so the quilter can stitch large designs without pushing the weight of the quilt. Most longarm quilting patterns are worked in one of four ways.
By Editorial Staff
| Method | How it works |
|---|---|
| Freehand | Guiding the machine by hand from the front, the way free motion works on a home machine. Meanders, loops and stippling are the usual first designs. |
| Rulers | Thick acrylic rulers held against a ruler foot, for straight lines, ditch work and arcs. Needs a ruler base and a ruler foot on the machine. |
| Pantograph | Following a printed design from the back of the machine with a laser or stylus, one row at a time. |
| Computerized | The machine stitches a digital design by itself, row by row or block by block, while the quilter loads and advances the quilt. |
Designs by longarm difficulty
| Design | Longarm | How | Home machine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stippling | Beginner | Freehand or computerized | Intermediate |
| Meander | Beginner | Freehand or computerized | Beginner |
| Loops | Beginner | Freehand | Beginner |
| Wavy lines | Beginner | Freehand | Beginner |
| Baptist fan | Beginner | Pantograph or computerized | Intermediate |
| Boxy meander | Intermediate | Freehand | Intermediate |
| Pebbles | Intermediate | Freehand | Advanced |
| Straight lines | Intermediate | Straight ruler or computerized | Beginner |
| Matchstick | Intermediate | Straight ruler or computerized | Beginner |
| Crosshatch | Intermediate | Straight ruler | Beginner |
| Grid | Intermediate | Straight ruler | Beginner |
| Zigzag | Intermediate | Straight ruler | Beginner |
| Square spiral | Intermediate | Straight ruler | Beginner |
| Spiral | Intermediate | Circle rulers or computerized | Intermediate |
| Clamshell | Intermediate | Pantograph or curved ruler | Intermediate |
| Orange peel | Intermediate | Curved ruler | Intermediate |
| Echo | Intermediate | Rulers or freehand | Beginner |
| Stitch in the ditch | Intermediate | Straight ruler | Beginner |
| Outline | Intermediate | Rulers | Beginner |
Backing and batting for a longarm
The backing and batting are clamped to the rails and the side clamps, so both need to be bigger than the top: most longarm quilters ask for at least 4" extra on every side, and some ask for 6". The amounts below allow 4".
| Size | Quilt | Backing size | 42" fabric | 108" wide | Batting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crib | 45" × 60" | 53" × 68" | 3 yd | 1½ yd | Twin, 72" × 90" |
| Throw | 60" × 72" | 68" × 80" | 4 yd | 2 yd | Twin, 72" × 90" |
| Twin | 70" × 90" | 78" × 98" | 5½ yd | 2¼ yd | Queen, 90" × 108" |
| Full | 84" × 96" | 92" × 104" | 7¾ yd | 2¾ yd | King, 120" × 120" |
| Queen | 90" × 108" | 98" × 116" | 8¼ yd | 3¼ yd | King, 120" × 120" |
| King | 108" × 108" | 116" × 116" | 9¾ yd | 6½ yd | King, 120" × 120" |
Press the backing seams open, trim off the selvages, and square the backing before you send it. The backing calculator works it out for any quilt.
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