Boa Extended Width Quilting Design

Boa consists of a simple, repeating serpentine shape. I designed it as an extended-width file to maintain the consistent spacing of the lines throughout each row of stitching.



If you are new to extended-width pantograph designs, I'd encourage you to visit this blog post that provides more information and help with set-up. They are different than traditional edge-to-edge designs and may require different configurations or settings with your software.

This quilting design is sure to bring whimsy to any quilt top! For that reason, I think a quilt top with bright colors, children's quilts, modern quilts, or even water or snake-themed quilts would be perfect candidates for the Boa design.

The Quilt

I used the Raspberry Kiss block tutorial from Wooden Spoon Quilts to make this quilt top.

The x-shaped patchwork requires only small amounts of fabric, which gives you a lot of bang for your buck when you pair it with a high-contrast background like I did.

I'm not quite sure what I was originally thinking, but I ended up making my blocks with all the colors of the rainbow... except for red. When I laid out the blocks on my design wall, it was begging for red, so I made a slew of red blocks and got rid of some of the original blocks that didn't have enough contrast. I'm really glad I went to the extra effort, because it made a big impact on the overall look of the quilt.

We were vendors at QuiltCon this year in Raleigh, NC, and this quilt received the most attention in our booth! 

The Quilting Particulars

Here's the link to more information about extended-width designs. Within this blog post, we have links to video tutorials showing how to set up extended-width designs for all major software brands. 

You'll find a left-to-right version (called Boa L to R) in the file formats bundled with your purchase. Use the L to R file if your machine won't travel right-to-left without thread breaks or poor tension.

There's a video of the stitch out at the top of the blog post.

One repeat of the design is actually a couplet of rows. The default width is 122" wide, which means you'll want to trim/clip on the right and left edges of the design away, leaving only what's needed for the quilt you have mounted on your frame.

Here are the sizing specifications for how I set up this sample quilt size using my Intelliquilter (60" x 73" quilt size):

Row height: 6.9"
Gap: 0.2" 
Pattern height: 6.9" (measurement from top to bottom of the repeat)
Offset: none
Backtracking: none

Setting the row to be this height results in each serpentine shape being approximately 3.3" tall.

Here's a look at the included PDF:

If you use Boa on a quilt, we'd love for you to use the hashtag #boapanto and tag @longarmleague on Instagram so we can see how you use it! You can also visit our full digital design shop to take a look at all our previous designs.

Interested in getting new digital pantograph designs like this one on the day they're released (and at a deep discount)? Sign up for our Digital Panto Club and get them delivered straight to your inbox on the first Wednesday of each new month.