Why you should choose a specialist longarm instead of a domestic machine on a frame

When quilters find it difficult to move a quilt around under a domestic machine to do free motion quilting they naturally try to find an easier solution!

It's really hard moving the bulk of the fabric and wadding under a small freearm. You continually have to move it to stitch a new area. Sometimes it gets stuck and then suddenly frees itself and before you know it you've got short stitches and long stitches and you're unpicking it because you don't want to ruin the end result which has taken you ages to piece. We've been there too. 

You can watch our video of my experience trying to complete a Log Cabin quilt under my domestic machine here.

I finished the quilt on a Sweet Sixteen Longarm with stitch regulation and a 16" free arm space. It was so much easier and I LOVE the result!

You could always use a "Quilt As You Go" method like Angela Walters shows here. However it still doesn't give you the freedom of longarm quilting and the playtime that you get. It's also a lot more of a faff! So if you're looking at making your quilt life easier a sitdown (stationary) or standup (moveable) quilt machine is going to make your quilting more creative and enjoyable.

Domestic machine on a fold up or permanent frame?

At shows you sometimes see frames with a domestic machine on it.

Whilst it initially sounds like a good idea right there are significant disadvantages to going this route.

Since I am in the position of having sold both domestic machine frame quilting systems and longarm purpose built systems I'll give you the lowdown on why a longarm that is built for purpose is going to always be the better choice.

The Moxie 15" Longarm with Loft Frame

The Capri 18" Longarm with InSight Table for stitch regulated stitches

1. Domestic machines - straight stitch versus zigzag

A domestic machine that does zigzag (swing needle system) is always going to be a compromise when it comes to doing a really nice straight stitch. The machine is designed to move the needle from side to side. 

There is less movement, more precise stitches and when you start doing free motion quilting in all directions the result from a straight stitch machine is better. 

Even if you put a straight stitch domestic machine on your frame it won't be setup for free motion quilting. 

Do you know how to set the bobbin tension or top tension for free motion quilting? Are there lessons available by the supplier on how to do this? There are some key pointers that you may be able to get from YouTube but the key reason that you will never outperform a longarm is that Handi Quilter longarms are ONLY set up to do  free motion quilting and the position of the hook and the needle is precisely set for this purpose. We explain why in point 2 below.

2. Machines set up for one purpose - longarm quilting!

Whenever you have a machine that is set up to do lots of different things you inevitably have a compromise. However, it's even more than that for longarm quilting. We actually set up the machines so that the hook and the needle are "just touching". This means really consistent stitches. Most domestic machine will not have been set up that way unless an engineer as specifically been told to do so.

When I sold domestic machines to go on wooden quilting frames we actually took every new machine and adjusted it so that it would work better on a quilting frame. No one knew we did that but we learnt how over the ten years that we sold the machines that they worked better that way. At Pinhole Quilting we sell Handi Quilter longarm machines because they are designed to do longarm quilting and free motion embroidery.

So if you buy a domestic machine and put it on a frame the chances are that you will never get as good a result as with a specialist machine designed to do just free motion quilting on a frame or table.

The needle is set to just touch the hook for the best stitching result

3. Free arm space - If you start with 9" free arm space you'll have 5" of sewing space at the most!

If you put a domestic machines on a frame you end up with 5" or 7" of quilt space. You lose about 4" off any machine when you put a rail under the free arm and the wadding and fabric get rolled up as you progress through the quilt which takes up more and more space.

And it's not just about the distance front to back. The height of longarms that are built for quilting is so much more too, allowing space for the quilt to be quilted from start to finish with lots of space for movement. This shows how you can use a Little Foot frame to quilt even up to King Size with just 7' x 7' of space.

4. Rotary hook versus top loading bobbins and yes, bigger is better!

You may remember the old Singer machines with rotary hook bobbins. Well, those are the same kind of hook system that you'll find on our industrial quality longarm machines. We use them because they are a tried and tested accurate system but also can run at fast speeds. A domestic machine normally sews less than 1600 stitches per minute. Most will do 1100 stitches per minute or less. This is a result of a combination of the needle and bobbin case physical limitations and how the manufacturers design their machines (motor speed and swing needle design). Our machines sew between 1800 stitches per minute and 3100 stitches per minute. From a quilters point of view it means you're not continually wanting to sew faster than the machine!

The M size bobbin allows you to quilt for longer so that you're not continually changing the bobbin as it runs out so much faster. For example, a prewound L bobbin from Wonderfil is 110 yards versus a huge 210 yards for the M bobbin!

5. Tension Adjustment

When we set up our longarm machines we adjust the bobbin first. We do what is called the "Bobbin Drop Test". You can see how to do it on our videos and for customers where we do the installations we show you how to get consistent bobbin tension. Then we only have to adjust the top tension to get it in balance. 

The training video below shows how we do this on our Handi Quilter longarm machines.

If you use a domestic machine with a top loading bobbin there is very little adjustment that you can make to the bobbin tension. The manufacturers sell this as a benefit for setting up the machine as they say that the tension is automatic. However, this is a disadvantage when you need to be in control of your bobbin tension!  

For some domestic machines you can buy a special hook assembly to make adjustments possible. Most manufacturers don't generally show consumers how to adjust the bobbin tension for domestic top loading machines or even tell them if there is a different hook assembly. It's just not built to be used that way.

6. Industrial Needles and Needle Deflection

Our machines all use Industrial Needles. The machines run at fast speeds and with the industrial needle we get consistency, strength and they are excellent for multi direction free motion quilting. 

With the very fast machines - 2500 stitches per minute or above you can also use multi direction needles called MR needles. They are even better for consistency when doing very fast stitching. You can read more about the MR needles on a separate blog post here.

If you use a domestic needle for your quilting you may be getting skipped stitches because the needle isn't designed to flex and bend at speed while the needle is in the work. 

We use the same needles for cotton, polyester and metallic. So you don't need lots of different types of needles like you do for your domestic. We have needles for regular quilting (sharps), ballpoint needles for jerseys and knits (T shirt quilts mostly), the very fast machines (MR Sharps) and leather.

7. Handi Quilter only make longarm machines and frames

When you're looking for a longarm pick a specialist. Longarm quilting is what we do. 

Handi Quilter are the same. They make longarms for a number of major domestic machine brands too. There is a reason for that. It's a specialist area that takes a lot of investment and expertise.

There is a good reason why Handi Quilter is the number one manufacturer of longarm machines in the world. They have invested in getting their machines certified throughout the world. It's one of the reasons why we can supply our machines from stock. With some brands you have to order direct from the States. The downside of this approach is that the support is from abroad and not in your time zone.

8. Education and Training

If you buy a frame and put your domestic machine on it where do you go for training and support? What if you are getting skipped stitches? Do you know how to resolve the issue and what is causing it? What about tension - if it's bird nesting on the bottom do you know why? 

When I sold frames with domestic machines on them I did run courses on how to get the best results because there are special techniques for frame quilting. Ask your frame supplier if they run classes or offer support. If they don't then you may be disappointed to find that the easy to put up and put down quilting frame doesn't get the use that you expected and it's mostly in the "down" position.

We offer a FREE Foundation Workshop with most of our longarm machines. We have follow up training with world class quilt teachers.

We have a Showroom with over 14 longarms in it. It's the largest longarm showroom in Europe!

9. Invest in a new longarm or a preloved one

Our Handi Quilter longarm customers have found that their investment in a Handi Quilter longarm has been a good one. Many of them who have upgraded over the years have been pleasantly surprised to find that when they want to change their machine the resale value enables them to put the higher than they expected residual value into a new machine.

We have a separate website just for Preloved Longarms. So if you would like to start longarm quilting and were afraid it was going to be too expensive check out our Preloved website. Some either have the existing Handi Quilter warranty or we provide a warranty (subject to the machine condition and a fee) to give you the peace of mind that you are making a good choice with a Handi Quilter. We're confident in the quality of our longarms and we want you to be too.

10. Service and Support

If you have problems with your domestic machine on a frame will your local sewing machine dealer know how to advise on what you need to do? Are they a quilter? Do they know about the tension settings or how to deal with 100 weight thread? Or will they say that because it's on a frame they can't help?

What about servicing and support? 

Ask lots of questions before you purchase. Don't just assume that all machines are the same or that the level of support you get for a longarm is the same as the support for domestic machines from the same manufacturer!

One of our customers who has a Handi Quilter Infinity with Pro-Stitcher has another longarm sitting in her garage from a popular quilting domestic manufacturer with the computerised system. She upgraded to it having had absolutely no support in the UK from the supplier. She was so frustrated she asked them to take it back but they refused. The warranty could not be transfered to a new owner so in the end she decided to upgrade to a Handi Quilter anyway. She's been delighted with the level of support Pinhole Quilting have been able to provide.

After a support call the customer wrote "Thank you for all the information and help you have been sending.  I am so grateful.  What a complete difference from the company beginning with "*"!"

So if you are considering a longarm visit us at a show or book an appointment on 01905 942972 or email quilt@pinholequilting.co.uk

You'll be in good company - these are our Handi Quilter owner installations in the South of England for example as of the end of 2021.

Link to maps