Stitches per minute

Getting a nice line of stitching requires a certain amount of speed. 

Professional long arm quilting machines are designed for higher speeds to create those beautiful lines of stitching.  Speed puts stress on thread.

So machine quilters using long arms need threads that can cope with high speeds. Lets look at stitches per minute and compare stitch speed across a range of popular quilting machines.

APQS long arm machines can go  up to 3500 stitches per minute

Gammill long arms can so up to 2700 stitches per minute

JUKI's new QVP  goes 2200 stitches per minute.

Innova 22 inch long arm goes 2000 stitches per minute

Avante HandiQuilter runs up to 1800 stitches per minute

JUKI TL98P semi-industrial straight stitch  1500 stitches per minute

JUKI TLQVP Mini semi-industrial straight stitch 1500 stitches per minute

Bernina 820 goes 1100 stitches per minute

Janome Horizon goes 1000 stitches per minute

Most domestic sewing machines go just under 1000 stitches per minute. That's NOT very fast. Most threads will run fine in sewing machine limited to or near the  1000 stitches per minute mark. Even though they have a longer arm the Bernina 820 and Janome Horizon fall into this group. 

Feathers created with 1500 stitch per minute JUKI TL98P

Once you move up to 1500 stitches per minute you need better quality thread. I discovered this when I upgraded from a much beloved old Bernina to the JUKI TL98P. I had all sorts of tension problems and thread breakage.That's when I discovered Superior Threads designed for long arm quilting. The large cross wound cones come in lots of ranges. Some long arms are pickier than others where threads are concerned. If you're having thread problems with your long arm ring me for a consult. Machine Quilter has been selling thread to long arm quilters here in the UK for 10 years. We can help you choose the ideal thread for your machine quilter whatever the speed. 

Ring or email Martha at Machine Quilter for advice about which threads to use with your sewing machine.

martha@machinequilter.co.uk

01526 553366

Magnifico from Superior Threads Perfect for machine quilting

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.

Photo Finish

Martha getting the 6 foot New English Quilter frame ready to roll

Here are some shots from Sunday, the last day of the show. This was our busiest show ever! Every other year we managed to slip away to buy fabric and wander a bit through the exhibition quilts. But this year we were too busy!

Variegated Rainbow threads from Superior Threads

 The one-inch-colour-change variegated threads from the Rainbows range of Superior Threads make such pretty lines!

Rosie on the 6 foot New English Quilter frame

 Rosie was practising some new line designs before the Show opened.

Emily on the Quilt Virtuoso Pro JUKI Long Arm

 It was really nice having the two frames near each other. Everyone had such fun with the new JUKI QVP long arm. But if it was just too big or too expensive they could try the smaller New English Quilter frame with the JUKI TL98P sewing machine. This smaller frame is easy to set up and take down, so it's versatile. Our New English Quilter frames are an American idea that's been adapted to fit into our English homes. Our smaller frames offer the same freedom of movement but on a smaller more affordable scale.

Trying the New English Quilter under Rosie's watchful eye

 This mother and daughter really enjoyed trying both!

Trying the JUKI Long Arm under Emily's watchful eye

So did these young men! They came to the show because one of the guy's mother had a haberdashery shop. His friend who teaches Textiles in a Birmingham High School was not really looking forward to the outing...until he got here. The Festival of Quilts really amazed and inspired him. We had a great conversation about the frame's potential.

I love this picture. It tells a great story. I'll fill you in tomorrow...

Star of the Show

Ikuko tries the new Juki QVP long arm while Emily smiles

I'd have to say that for us, the star of this year's Festival of Quilts show was the new JUKI QVP long arm.

Emily with an excited quilter

Thursday was the opening day as JUKI QVP long arm machine
was demonstrated in Europe for the first time.
People trying it just couldn't help smiling.

Laurence Franklin (on the left) the UK Distributor for JUKI sewing machines

This JUKI Long Arm is so very popular in America that Laurence Franklin, our JUKI distributor here in the UK, decided to bring it to the Festival of Quilts this summer.

JUKI business leaders from central Europe flew over to have a look and give it a try.

Chris, part of our film production crew, has a go

 We all did! It was hard to resist and even people who weren't quilters wanted to see what the JUKI QVP long arm would do.

some nice stitching as Emily runs the JUKI QVP through it's paces

We've been waiting a long time for JUKI to bring out a long arm sewing machine. This new JUKI QVP was worth the wait!

My turn on the JUKI Quilt Virtuoso Pro

10 Years at the Festival

We're getting ready for the Festival of Quilts 2013. We've been going to this Birmingham Quilt Show since the very first event in 2003. As an American living here in the UK, I'd been frustrated by how long it took the exciting new American quilting products to get 'across the Pond'. We wanted English quilters to have access to the new stuff while it was still new! That's why we stared The Machine Quilter Company Ltd. We wanted to bring American innovations in machine quilting to the English quilter.

SuperQuilter frame 2003

10 years ago we brought the very first 'table top' machine quilting frame to the UK from Canada. It was called the SuperQuilter. For the first time quilters were able to use ordinary domestic sewing machines like a long arm for a fraction of the cost.

The following year we began importing machine quilting threads from a new American company called Superior Threads. We needed the right sort of threads to use on the frames, threads that wouldn't shred and fray. They were brilliant! We were thrilled and we've been distributing Superior Threads here in the UK ever since. As soon as the new thread ranges come out in the States we have them available here!

In 2005 we began working with JUKI sewing machines. Juki TL98 sewing machines were the American favourite and Franklin's offered the  JUKI TL98P here in the UK to meet the need for a longer armed domestic machine that was ideal for the machine quilting frames.

In 2007 we created the New English Quilter, the very first Machine Quilting frame made in the UK. We took all the best features of the Stateside frames added a few of our own. We employed the British genius for design and adapted an American idea to fit into European homes. We've gone on to develop accessories like made-to-measure tables and ergonomic Nifty Grip speed control handles.

The New English Quilter frame

Then we began to develop the educational arm of the company with demonstrations, workshops and retreats. We wanted people with machine quilting frames to have the training and support they needed to become more confident machine quilters.

a film shoot

This year we are thrilled to have the NEW JUKI Long Arm the  QVP2200. American's have been raving about this machine since it came out earlier this year. Now it's our turn!!! Come see us at stand  A36 B36-38.

New Juki Long Arm!Quilt Virtuoso Pro 2200

It's been a great 10 years!