In an effort to build resources for computerized quilters, I've been looking for tutorials that explain how to set up extended-width designs with the various software options available today. Betsy Green of The Salty Stitcher Quilt Company created this video for setting up designs with Pro-Stitcher Premium. Thanks so much, Betsy! We hope it's helpful to you if you'd like to explore extended-width designs. 

The design she uses in the demonstration video above is Driftwood. 

All of the Longarm League extended-width designs come with a PDF that provides the default dimensions. If I use a size different from the default in my examples, they will be noted in the design's blog posts, shop product listings, and PDFs. If you are prone to getting thread breaks when quilting in the right-to-left direction, my files also come with L to R versions that I'd recommend using instead.

For general information about extended-width designs, read this article....

Have you ever bought a digital quilting design and Intelliquilter freaked out when you set it up using the pantograph function?

Maybe resulting in a screen that looks like this?



Instead of the design file consisting of a single motif that gets repeated like this:

an extended-width design looks like this on your Pattern Selector screen.



In this case, the repeats are already built into the design; you just need to place and repeat the rows.

To repeat and place the rows, you must use the Block Pattern feature and NOT Pantograph when setting it up. In fact, you'll get the unquiltable display of red lines (shown in the first photo) as the software attempts to repeat/tile the 100"+ segment both across and down the quilt parameters you've set.

If you have a panto-only version of Intelliquilter, you will not be able to use extended-width designs without upgrading your software to allow block options.

The video at the top of this post will take you through the way I set up...

In an effort to build resources for computerized quilters, I've been looking for tutorials that explain how to set up extended-width designs with the various software options available today. Since I couldn't quite find the one I was looking for with Gammill Statler's Creative Studio, Emily Hoppe of So Sunny Quilts created this video at my request. Thanks so much, Emily! We hope it's helpful to you if you'd like to explore extended-width designs. 


The design she uses in the demonstration video above is Rich Girl. 

All of my designs come with a PDF that provides the default dimensions. If I use a size different from the default in my examples, they will be noted in the design's blog posts, shop product listings, and PDFs. If you are prone to getting thread breaks when quilting in the right-to-left direction, my files also come with L to R versions that I'd recommend using instead.

Questions or concerns? Let us know by email: [email protected]...

In an effort to build resources for computerized quilters, I've been looking for tutorials that explain how to set up extended-width designs with the various software options available today. Since I couldn't quite find the one I was looking for with Quilt Path, Danelle Howard of Cottage Path Quilting created this video at my request. We've heard from Quilter's Creative Touch users that the screens and steps are similar enough that this tutorial will help them, too. Thanks so much, Danelle! We both hope it's helpful to you if you'd like to explore extended-width designs. 

We created a cheat sheet for you here. But if you need additional support or to get official Quilt Path resources, we suggest requesting to join the Quilt Path Central Facebook group.

The design Danelle uses in the demonstration video above is Driftwood. 

All of my designs come with a PDF that provides the default dimensions. If I use a size different from the default in my examples,...

This is Royal, the newest extended-width digital quilting design from your friends (me) at Longarm League! 
 



Royal, as an extended-width design, operates like this:
• The first trip across the quilt will quilt the "crown elements" (aka the spiky shapes) with the circles up.
• Then, it'll quilt a straight line right to left, then stitch two more lines left to right and then right to left.
• Next, it'll stitch the same spikey shapes (circles down this time) left to right.
• This is followed by three more straight lines, ending on the left edge and ready for another repeat unless you need to stop to advance the quilt. 

This edge-to-edge quilting design would look super cute on a princess's quilt (I'm assuming you know one)! But it could also work for a Crown Royal quilt. Have you come across one? They incorporate fabric from the pouches included with Crown Royal Whiskey bottles - it's a thing. Or perhaps you get a Kansas City...

This month in the Longarm League, we published a coaching call featuring Emi Takagi Stapler of Emi and Ko Studio. I sat down with her to talk about balancing her quilting business, which consists of pattern design and longarm quilting, with being a mother of four, teaching piano lessons, and adapting to military relocations. We talked about her experience at Quilt Market in Houston, thoughts on potentially starting a podcast, and how to best leverage social media for her business.

While League members have full access to the recording of the call, we asked Emi to share a little more about herself and her business with our blog readers.

Without further ado, let's meet Emi...

Emi Takagi Stapler, Emi and Ko Studio.

Located: Colorado Springs, CO
In business: Since 2018
Machine and software: Bernina Q24 and Bernina Qmatic
In the Longarm League: Since 2022

Where to find Emi
Website: https://www.emiandkostudio.com/
Instagram: @emiandkostudio
Facebook: Emi and Ko Studio
Best way...

My inspiration for this design came from the "ribbon candy" motif that—for whatever reason—always seems so effective in adding great quilting texture.

Ribbon candy is often used in custom quilting to add oomph to certain areas of a quilt top, whether it be in the patchwork or in a thin border or sashing. 



I wanted to translate that ribbon candy idea into an edge-to-edge design that would be effective regardless of the quilt pattern. 

I couldn't help but see the shape of an S in the ribbon candy, and the name Ess-Dog (from the song Jenny and the Ess-Dog by Stephen Malkmus) kept coming to mind when I was trying to name the design. But luckily, during the Christmas holiday break, Josh and I watched the entire series of the BBC show called Gavin and Stacey, and a lot of the show is set in Essex. I thought this was a much more grown-up name than Ess-Dog. :) 

I wanted to keep the repeats somewhat "contained" and...

Today, I'm featuring an alternate use for the Rumble edge-to-edge design we released three years ago.

Back then, when a new design came out, I didn't have the bandwidth to do anything but email the Longarm League membership and maybe post it to Instagram. In other words, Rumble never got the blog treatment that it deserves.



I've seen Rumble used many times over the years, much more commonly without the offset. Here's an example of a time I used it with my Fierce Feathered Star quilt:

Rumble used the default way makes a great alternative to straight-line quilting. It's awesome on modern quilts! 

But as I was sewing this Christmas-y quilt together, I thought Rumble this alternate way—with a 50% offset— would be a great way to finish the lap quilt. I'm very happy with the result!

I am NOT big on decorating for any holiday, so I feel especially festive right about now, a whole two weeks before December 25th. I'm throwing this on my...

I've always wanted to make my own version of "hand-guided" spirals to join the ranks of Feathered Spirals, Fancy Feathers, Echoed Swirls, Fossilized—designs I used to free-motion quilt before I had my computerized machine.

This was the first design that I drew on my iPad (using the Graphic app), then imported into Art and Stitch to "clean up". The most difficult part of that process was getting the rows to nest the way I wanted them to. After many, many iterations, I'm happy with the design that's meant to look "perfectly imperfect," like free-motion quilting. 

I think that the larger and more varied the single repeat is, the more a design looks organic. For these kinds of designs, my goal is that the design repeats and rows are difficult to find. :) 

I named it Perm because the spirals reminded of the curly hair look in the late 80s and early 90s! The one and only perm I got was a "spiral perm" at a...

Fizz is so simple and versatile, it'll work on anything!



This is an extended-width pantograph design, which means one squiggly line will travel the whole width of the quilt and then will travel back right-to-left to complete the bubbles, baubles...? Melon shapes? What are we calling these? Chainlink, but cuter? ;)

The advantages of using this design:
1) No backtracking.
2) Stitches smoothly (no corners or pivots) and quickly.
3) Looks great in either direction — loading a quilt on its side can increase efficiency by not having to advance the quilt as much.

Potential disadvantages of using this design (hey, just being honest):
1) If your machine doesn't do well traveling right-to-left, you'll want to load the L to R version of the design which is included in the purchase. This means manually moving the machine head back to the left edge of the quilt for each line, like you would for straight-line quilting. Kind of a pain. But, even so - no backtracking is still...