For the really serious quilter, whether you are a hobbyist or a professional, a long arm quilting equipment can be an excellent investment. It will allow the operator to sew together the layers of a quilt much more quickly and easily than by hand stitching, or utilizing a normal stitching device.
These specialized equipments which were first developed as early as 1871, originated from the ordinary sewing devices of that era and generally had only two bars allowing the operator to stitch direct parallel traces on the fabric by moving the quilt and the frame beneath the equipment.
By around 1877, the idea of this somewhat elementary equipment had been improved upon and the modern long arm quilting machines are quite similar in principal to these early designs. Before the coming of electricity, to move the equipment along the rails required the quilter to use a hand crank.
Through the years of the Depression peoples interest in ordinary sewing and stitching devices decreased and hand sewing and stitching strategies were more frequently used, but surprisingly the long arm quilting machines remained popular. In the subsequent years the equipments have become more sophisticated with lots of extra features and quilters are showing a greater interest in them than ever.
One of the reasons for their popularity is the great deal of time they can save when making a quilt, but it is not possible to use these devices are in an ordinary room, simply because of their large size. A long arm quilting machine can measure between ten and fourteen feet in length and about two and a half to four feet in depth. It is really vital to have a room dedicated to the equipment and the hobby.
Of course, as it is a very specialized piece of equipment, these types of equipment can be expensive and you can anticipate to pay from about $7,000 to $18,000 USD depending on the make and the features that the model has. Brands to look out for are Pfaff, Nolting, Gammill and American Professional Quilting Systems.
If you are taking into consideration of buying one, you need to devote some time choosing and determining which features are essential to have. As they are expensive, it would not be a good idea to opt for a model with a lot of extra features if you are seldom, if ever, going to use them.
However, for the dedicated hobbyist, or professional quilter who wishes all the extras, there are some very useful ones on the more expensive equipments which are worth thinking of. These include laser light guides, thread cutters, a free motion quilting foot, stitch regulators, bobbin regulators and bobbin winders. Of these, a stitch regulator is quite possibly one of the best features to opt for. It will allow the operator to switch on a speed regulator which times the needle, so that evenly spaced stitches can be built across the whole quilt. The advantage is that even if the operator is not totally precise, a professional looking outcome is quite easy to achieve which would be much trickier if working with ordinary home sewing equipment.
With a dedicated long arm quilting machine the operator can generate a quilt far more easily and quickly than by employing any other method.
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