Hi ,

One of the #1 questions I receive about longarm quilting is - how do you quilt the bottom edge of the quilt on a frame? 🤔

This is a great question because there are many many videos on loading your quilts on frames and quilting edge-to-edge, but very few tutorials dedicated to finishing your quilt and the last steps to quilting off the bottom edge.

This week I have a fun video tutorial for you that shows you all the steps to quilting across the last row of your quilt using pantographs designs as a guide. This is the final step - quilting over the bottom edge to secure and finish your quilt:

Quilting the Final Row of Your Quilt is Easy If...

Quilting the final row is surprisingly easy... IF you took the time at the beginning of the process to baste your quilt during loading.

Having the quilt stitch-basted means that the sides and bottom edges are all secure. So quilting your partial last row is as simple as finding the edge of the quilt, then only stitching as much as you need of the pantograph design.

Because the quilt is secure, you don't have to worry about stuff like this happening:

I had my quilt basted, but picked out some stitching to take a pretty photo and wouldn't you know it - my foot caught on that one spot 🤯

When all the edges of the quilt are locked down with basting stitches, you don't have to worry about your foot catching on the quilt, pulling the quilt over, stitching your quilt top to itself, etc.

If you didn't baste during loading, stop and take the time to do it before quilting the bottom row of your quilt. Baste stitch along the sides and bottom edge of the quilt to lock it in place.

Woud you like to learn even more about pantograph quilting? You can dive deep into this style of quilting with the Quilting Pantographs Guidebook.

Within this guide, you'll learn:

• Tools and supplies required for pantograph quilting on your frame
• How to quilt pantographs on a rolling rail frame
• Steps to begin your quilt with a partial first row
• How pantographs work on a hoop frame and how to keep the rows straight even through multiple side-to-side advances.
• Test out the steps with the pretty Leafy Meander Pantograph design

You'll also find a whole chapter on troubleshooting, plus a quilting stencil to try as well. Click Here to check out the Quilting Pantographs Guidebook!

Save 20% on Rear Handlebars

Rear handlebars make it possible for you to control the longarm machine from the back of the frame. This is required for pantograph quilting because we quilt from the back, tracing the design using a laser light.

Click Here to find Rear Handlebars for all Grace Longarm machines 20% off - but only until June 30th!

Quilting Vertical Pantographs with QMX Foundations

Another way to quilt with pantographs is to let your machine do it for you 😍 Computer quilting systems like QMX Foundations will steer your machine, allowing you to stitch perfect patterns on your quilts.

See how to quilt vertical pantographs using QMX Foundations in this new video:

QMX Foundations is compatible with Cutie Breeze Frames and most home sewing machines. You can use your sewing machine with this system if you have the following features:

• Stop / stop button
• Needle Up / Down Button
• Speed Selector

If your machine has these three features, most likely you will be able to use QMX Foundations! Using this system, you'll be able to place pantograph designs both horizontally across your quilt and vertically as shown in the video above.

This allows you to do very creative custom quilting, with a very affordable computerized quilting system 😮

See how I quilted evenly spaced spiral pantos using a very inexpensive Singer Heavy Duty 6800C in this video:

The downside of using a smaller machine is you won't have much space to play. But if you have a machine that has those basic features listed above, you will be able to get started with QMX and have some fun. Remember, you can always upgrade and change machines later.

My personal favorite is using my Little Rebel with QMX. It offers lots of space, great lighting, and a convenient start / stop button right on the handlebars.

Click Here to find QMX Foundations and learn more about this affordable computerized quilting system.

That's it for this week, my quilting friend! Independence Day is just around the corner and I'm so excited about this special quilting tutorial I'm working on to celebrate. Here's a sneak peek of what is coming next...

Be looking forward to an awesome tutorial on how you can piece and quilt in the hoop directly using QMX coming soon!

Let's go quilt,

Leah Day