How to Choose Pantographs

Hello, longarmers and all quilters!

Today I'm linking up to
Long Arm Learning #3.

Today I'm going to share a little about how I learned to pick

out pantographs that I could actually do as a beginner.

Like so much of what I've learned of sewing in general,

it was all by trial and error.  But, I think that this can

be one of the most effective ways of learning.

And it keeps me humble!  Ha!

First off, this was a very hard the hardest post to write.

I've done a lot of writing--and a lot of deleting.

I'd love to help with every single little issue that

I've encountered but I also don't want to overwhelm

anyone with too much information, especially when

so much of it is, as I said, best learned with doing.

I hope I've found the happy medium but if something

is confusing or you'd like more info,

please just ask and I'll see if I can offer any help.

If you missed my intro last week (see it here), I

love, love, love pantographs.  For so many years I was

confined to a regular machine doing free-motion, when all

I dreamed about were the beautiful and uniform designs that

I would see on the quilts hanging up in shops and online.

I have not felt creative enough yet to do the more artistic

FMQ.  I did a lot of meandering:  swirls, loops, stippling,

leaves (lots and lots of leafy vines!), hearts etc.

And pumpkins.

Pumpkins are one thing I can do freehand.  Go figure!

If you know me and my love of all things fall and pumpkin

(I was pumpkin waaay before pumpkin was cool!)

this all makes perfect sense. 

 There are just some things that I can be so excited

 about that I will push and push till I get it.

Pantographs are one of those things.

Pantographs are perfect and I wanted that perfection on

my quilts.  Eventually I became a longarm owner and

spent hours going over every pantograph available.

I ordered up some beautiful, flowing designs and

I was going to be perfect!

Instead, I was....kind of disappointed.

All of my passion and excitement was not enough to make

me instantly good at them.  Not even after some warming up.

Those suckers are a lot harder than they looked, darn them!

All those years of teasing me!

But as with any learning, it just takes practice.

And patience.

I didn't choose a very easy design for my first but in my

love for fall things, I was stubborn and wanted this one:

Really this wasn't too bad of a beginner's choice

as I'll get to in a minute but there's a lot of detail.

But, having a lot of detail can help hide mistakes

so I had that going for me.

I remember getting frustrated with those shells at the bottom

of the acorns.  I don't think I got a single one right--and I still

find them a bit of a struggle.  And I think you'll find exactly that:

there are just some shapes that you will struggle with. 

This quilt was just for me so, with no pressure,

I loaded it up and off I went.

In looking back, I have to be kind to myself and note that I

was also learning to use my longarm.  I bought it

slightly-used and had received no instruction at all.  

Scarier than a horror film!

I had some things to learn about needles and threads,

and tension was a four-letter word for probably the first

two years of owning my machine!  

But I stumbled through it and today it is still a favorite.

It will always be "my first longarm quilt"!

Everytime the grandkids come over, it is spread over our

living room floor for them to play on.  I also use it to work

on garden-y things, like prepping herbs for drying,

 while I'm watching tv with the hubs. 

So, here's the first pantograph tip:

If you are a new LA owner, learn as much as you can

about your machine first!

It is so hard to get into that rhythm when that thread

breaks every 2 seconds.  I know you're excited and

this isn't what you wanted to hear--you want to go!

But getting ahead of yourself can delay things later.

Relax and just get to know each other.

For those of us that know our machine well,

 head over to a pantograph site and--okay,

you've already done that, right?

I use Urban Elementz and Quilts Complete but I'm

sure there are others.  By the way, right before

and during the holidays, they usually have sales

like 20% off (free shipping at $50).  That's 

a little off-topic but we'll call it tip #2!

I have a tab up at the top of my blog where I keep

my pantographs listed.  I just found this an easy

reference for me to see what I have if I'm not at

home, or to let, ie, my sister know what I have for

when she comes to visit me my longarm.  In the

three years I've had my machine, I've tried to grow

a solid stash that covers all the basic quilt themes.

Right now I feel like I have everything I need along

with a few fun ones--like the tea/coffee theme.

For the record, I have 26.  I've only used 2/3 of them.

My point is, you really don't need a lot!

If you start with just a few general ones--leaves,

flowers, feathers, swirls--you'll have all you really need.

These are usually the easiest and the most forgiving.

Plus, working to master these will tell you what you

struggle with for when you begin to choose more

complicated designs.

"Apple Orchard" Urban Elementz

I'm not sure the order but this was another design

I did in those first few months.

Leaves really are so easy and fun to quilt up!

They come in all shapes and sizes so if yours

end up that way, you're just mimicking nature!

By the way, this "Apple Orchard" has a really neat

happy-ending that goes with it:  read it here.

I was super happy with this one, though these kind of 

"ribbon swirls" can still challenge me in any pantograph.

This is something I learned about my quilting right away.

I'm going to throw out a few other tips I have learned

for choosing easy designs for beginners--but whenever

you feel up for challenge, don't be afraid to branch out.

Remember, no matter what you try, you'll only get

better at it.  It's all about that muscle-memory, as 

Debbie at Stitchin' Therapy

 has often coached and encouraged me.

For your first pantographs: 

Look for random, forgiving designs.

By "forgiving," I mean that you can deviate a little

(or call it "making it your own"!) and it won't

hurt a thing.  Flowers and leaves grow all over, right?

"Linda's Daisy" Urban Elementz

This is one of the easiest pantos that I have.  Even if the

circular-center of the flower or the ribbon/vine curls have you

struggling, there is so much going on here, and if you've chosen

a fairly busy quilt design (and backing fabric!) for your first

quilt or two, no one is gonna see that your circles aren't perfect.

 

"Autumn Oaks" Clothwerx/Willow Leaf Studio

The fall leaves and acorns that I showed earlier is another

fairly forgiving pattern, though it does have some equidistant

lines that caused me some issue: the shells that "hug"

the acorns and the stems.  But there's nothing 

symmetrical here and, though you would have

to go slowly and patiently, I think it's a good

design for, say, a 3rd or 4th quilt?

Remember, random is your friend.

Anything with equidistant lines or mirror-ing designs

 is going to require you to be so SPOT-ON to make it

 look good. It is going to take any deviation and put it right

out there on exhibit.  In neon.

"Abacus Squared" by Urban Elementz

This above one looks like a simple design but I would rather

use a ruler or some other method than try to follow this

to a "T" on a pantograph. 

"Star Dance" Urban Elementz

However, straight lines in short bursts, as in this panto,

are certainly doable once you have a little "panto time" logged.

The stars are even a little bit wonky (forgiving!) and

embedded among lots of random.  Score!

Now right there with straight v. curvy lines, try to

go for designs that "wave" across your quilt.

"Monstera" Urban Elementz

This wave will also camouflage any deviations.

"Andi's Ribbon Heart" Urban Elementz

Not only do these hearts have equidistant lines but any

quilting "off the path" will be easily seen.

Also, using this on a quilt design that already has straight lines

(ie, blocks & sashing) will only help advertise any, ahem,

"free-flowing expression" in your quilting.

(That means flaws but you call it what you want.)
As a beginner, I would avoid this for now.

And one last thought when looking for your first

pantographs:  Look for a design that you can follow

easily with your eye.

The above Star Dance and Monstera are both

examples of ones you can follow easily.

"Bossa Nova"

Loops and curls, oh my!  This one is fun and fast but if I

get distracted (thread break, sneeze, phone ring, etc.)

I can lose where I'm at in those curls.

Now, on this, it kind of doesn't matter because it's doubtful

anyone will see it but there are more complicated designs that

can have you suddenly going backwards if you

so much as blink at the wrong time.   If you can't

follow it easily with your eyes, and with a little

distraction, you'll likely struggle with it as a panto.

This is when I feel like a cat chasing the laser light, btw.

While you could choose to avoid these as a beginner,

don't feel like you have to.  These are really about learning

where you can safely stop without losing your place.

And you can make yourself little notes when you set

up your pantograph.

But that, my quilty friends, is coming up next time.

Also under that category is:  Training Your Family.

<wink>

Hopefully this has clarified rather than confused

some of you new-to-pantographs quilters out there.

Again, I'd love to help--if I can!--with any questions

or even if just want a second opinion on a panto(s)

you're thinking about trying.

Happy quilting!