About a week ago I wrote about how create a pantograph using Electric Quilt 7 software. I created a simple coffee mug pantograph from a colouring book page.
I have quilted three quilts now using pantographs. One was a paw print, one a moon and star design and this last coffee mug one. Although I enjoyed the process and really liked the end result I have to say I am not a big fan of quilting a quilt with a pantograph.
For me, I find working from the back of the machine, following a little laser light, repetitive and boring. After 2 hours of this I find I have a pain that starts in my neck and travels all the way down my right arm. Once I start feeling that pain I know I need to stop. Quilting too many quilts using a pantograph would see any profits from my quilting going back into the hands of a chiropractor.
I also find the constant bending and stretching to see the quilt (as you are working from the back of the machine) very hard on the body. On this past quilt I added up the extra time it took to adjust the quilt on every pass. Normally advancing the quilt takes me 2 to 4 minutes. With a pantograph I find that time is usually 4 to 6 minutes. The other thing is that on a quilt that would normally take me say 7 passes, with a pantograph that amount may jump to 12 passes therefore if you add up the extra time pantographs can eat up to almost 45 minutes longer to quilt than an all over free form design.
Now, that may not seem like a lot but most times the cost to quilt an all over design vs a pantograph is the same however because the pantograph has used 45 minutes more of your time you are actually making less money so technically speaking we, as long arm quilters should actually be charging more for using pantographs.
Some quilts, like the one I used the paw print on and the coffee mug, call out for cute designs that are defiantly easier to quilt using a pantograph. Others can just as easily look great with an allover design or a partial custom look to them. I find it takes the same amount of time to do some partial stitch in the ditch and a free flowing feather or leaf design than it takes to quilt from the back of the machine.
Anyway, I guess if you had a computerized machine all over pantographs would be great. Just program the design in and let the machine do the work. That said you still have to advance the quilt and check to ensure everything is lined up correctly.
So for me, I love working from the front of the machine and creating my own designs even if I learned them from a book by Angela Walters or some other quilter. The designs are like handwriting, they are similar but still uniquely in your style.
The above is a client quilt I finished last week. It will be a wall hanging for her sister. I love the way it turned out and it was a lot easier to do and a lot more fun than the coffee mugs (although I do love the look of the coffee mugs).
Friendship is sewn with love and measured by kindness
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