Under the Arm

storybook illustration

There's a hidden dimension in long arm measurements. It's the height! Lots of people talk about how long the arm of a sewing machine is. But the height is just as important!  Long arm machines usually list the length AND the height of the machine arm.

So the longest Gammill is 30 inches long and 12 inches tall and

the shortest Gammill is 18 inches long and 8 inches tall.

Both dimentions, the length and the height are important.

Long arm sewing machines are proportional:

 as the length increases so does the height.

JUKI QVP 2200 18X 10" long arm

Machine Quilters don't need the height of the quilting machine to be high enough to drive a car through. But we do need to fit a fabric bar under the arm. As you move through your quilt, this fabric bar gets bigger and bigger. The taller arm allows for this.

JUKI TL98P 2 inches longer and taller than most domestic sewing machines

Before you buy a sewing machine for quilting look at the height. No matter how long the arm of the machine is, if they didn't make it taller,  you will still struggle to fit your quilt under the arm.  Taller machines will fit more of your quilt easily under the arm whatever quilting method you use.