Popular Styles of Longarm Quilting: Leah Day’s 4 Favorites

Free Hand Free Motion Quilting: This is the simplest style to try because you won’t need any extra equipment. Your longarm will come with a standard hopping foot which you can use to quilt free hand quilting designs like Stippling, Pebbling, and Paisley. These designs are learned through practice and memorization. Once you learn the basic rules of a design, you’ll be able to quilt it any size and in any space. Cover your quilt with one design, or stitch different designs in each block for a custom quilted effect.

Pantograph Quilting: Pantographs are continuous line designs printed on paper that you trace using a laser light from the back side of your longarm. For pantograph quilting, you’ll need rear handlebars, a laser light to follow the design, and paper pantographs. Many quilters find pantograph quilting easier than free hand quilting. You don’t have to stop and plan your design or worry about keeping the spacing between your lines even. Trace the pantograph design and your quilt will be consistently covered with flowing texture.

Ruler Quilting: If you crave more control over your longarm’s movement, ruler quilting will be a good quilting style to try. You will need a ruler base attached to your longarm, a ruler foot, and a variety of quilting rulers. I love ruler quilting so much, I leave my ruler base and ruler foot on my longarm all the time. This way I can grab a ruler and easily quilt straight lines, half circles, or feathers, then set the ruler aside and quilt free motion designs without breaking thread.

Computerized Quilting: Computerized quilting is for quilters wanting precision placement and unlimited design potential. Not only can you create your own custom designs, but you can also place and stitch them perfectly within your quilt blocks and borders. To start computerized quilting, you’ll need to upgrade your longarm with a computerized quilting system which includes a motor, drive belts, and software to run on a tablet. The basic premise of computerized quilting is design, place, quilt. Pick out your favorite designs from the program or draw your own. Using the software, place the designs on your quilt and stand back while the machine does the quilting for you.