Are you a quilter who finds yourself dreaming of owning a long arm machine? Do you have FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)? Do you think you could make a living quilting? Let’s talk about it.
Is a Long Arm Machine Right For You: Key Considerations
Owning a long arm machine is a big deal. Between the cost(s), the real estate needed, the potential of running a business, etc. there is a lot to think about. Before you go running to your local dealer or quilt show, stop and do some research first. In particular, I want you to look at sites like Facebook Marketplace and quilting groups for machines that are being resold, frequently in the space of less than a year. All of the videos make long arm quilting look so easy, but I can assure you it isn’t that easy.
The Real Cost
Purchasing the machine, with or without robotics, is just the beginning of the money you will put out for a long arm machine. You will also spend money on thread (probably a thread like Glide), different machine needles (unless you buy a Bernina), pantographs (either paper or digital), rulers and ruler base, etc. You can quickly spend a lot of money on the extras for your machine before you even get started quilting. So, before you get carried away and buy things you may never use, stop and think about it first.
Real Estate
Real estate will be the biggest determination of whether you can purchase a long arm on a frame or a sit down machine. IMHO, there is nothing like quilting on a long arm on a frame because it doesn’t require a lot of power to move the machine. I realize that there is far more throat or harp space on a sit down long arm machine versus a home sewing machine, but you are still manipulating the quilt by pushing and pulling it through the machine, and that can take a toll on your body.
If you don’t have problems standing, I will always recommend a long arm on a frame. There are saddle chairs you can use if you do have issues. I will also say that in my experience, standing is far better for me than sitting. This is also why I prefer to sew on my domestic machine while standing, but that’s another story.
Dollars and Cents
I’m going to start by saying how lucky my friends in the U.S. are to have wonderful 0% financing programs for purchases like a long arm. I would have done things differently if I had that option, but that’s water under the bridge now.
On the negative side of 0% financing is purchasing something you will struggle to pay off. If this is the case for you, please wait awhile so you can save some money prior to purchasing.
If you plan to run a business with your machine, do not think you will have quilters falling over themselves to hire you. If you are in a smaller community, with none or only a few long arm quilters, or you have a circle of quilting friends who may hire you, great. If you are like me, who lives in a giant metropolitan area of over 6 million people with lots of long arm quilters, it was very difficult to get started.
How to Choose a Machine
Please go to Google and look at long arm machine manufacturer’s websites. IMHO, these are the best machines on the market: Innova, Bernina, APQS, Gammill (in no particular order). When I bought my machine, I tried every machine I could get my hands on, and these were the four manufacturers I seriously considered. Please look at the websites and find out as much as you can (including reading reviews), before trying them out. The best place to try out all the machines is at a large quilt show. In this environment, you will get a good idea of what each machine feels like relevant to each other within a short period of time.
I know there are other machines on the market like HandiQuilter, BabyLock, Juki, etc. HandiQuilter is very popular, mostly because of the lower price point. I tried HandiQuilter, but it wasn’t high on my list because it just didn’t work as well as the others I mentioned above. As a side note, BabyLock long arm machines are manufactured by HandiQuilter, but sold at a higher price point. So if you are considering BabyLock, save yourself some money and purchase a HandiQuilter instead.
When trying out each machine, please pay attention to how the machine flows on the track. Is it hard or easy to move? Can the frame height be adjusted easily? Are the handlebars repositionable? This was a big factor for me since I have short arms with small hands. The fact that the Gammill long arms still don’t have repositionable handlebars (8 years after I bought my machine) is crazy. Ruler work and micro quilting must be difficult on a Gammill if you’re built like me in stature. By the way, I thought the Gammill was the best long arm that I tried, but the handlebars were the deal breaker for me.
The Used Long Arm Market
As I said above, lots of people buy a long arm, without realizing there is a large learning curve, and then put the machine on the market less than a year after purchasing it.
Buying a used machine will save you money, but the biggest problem is the machine warranty will not transfer to you, the new owner. If you don’t care, and let’s face it, some warranties are ridiculously short and don’t cover much of anything, then a used machine may be a good option for you.
The major downside of purchasing a used machine is you will be responsible to disassemble, transport and reassemble it at your home.
A used machine can be a great way to get a machine for less, but be careful going into someone’s home. These days you can’t be too careful.
The Learning Curve
Do not fool yourself into thinking the learning curve will be small, because I can assure you that won’t be the case. I do not have robotics on my machine so everything I do is free motion quilting or ruler quilting. I have not spent a large amount of time building my skill set, so I likely will never do custom quilting, and that’s fine.
Getting to know your machine is a must. Make some quilt sandwiches out of cheap fabric like old or poor quality bed sheets and load the quilt. My husband uses my original “quilts” as drop cloths in his workshop. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to be something to get you going.
Having robotics on your machine is another animal, and you will need to learn the software. It may seem that you just press a couple of buttons to tell the computer which pattern you want quilted where, but it’s not that easy. Be prepared to spend time learning the software and troubleshooting when things go wrong.
Quilting For a Living
I mentioned this briefly, but many people purchase a long arm machine with the intent to quilt for others. I let my husband talk me into this and it wasn’t a lot of fun.
I want to start here with what you can expect. I quilted some customer quilts before COVID arrived and I decided I had enough of quilting for others. You can expect quilts from people who barely pressed the quilt in the making and definitely didn’t bother to press before sending it to you to quilt. You will have folks that think the idea of providing an additional 4” of backing and batting all the way around the quilt is a rip off, and will try to avoid it at all cost. It is necessary for those additional inches of batting and backing in case the top shifts. You will get poorly constructed quilt tops that may come apart at the seam on the frame.
You will definitely experience wavy borders. Wavy borders are the nemesis of all long arm quilters. Many quilters THINK wavy borders can simply be quilted out by the long armer. Sometimes this is true, but not always. Then they get mad at you because you couldn’t quilt it out and there are fabric tucks in the quilt. You may even experience people who think you can freehand perfect circles. I once had a beginner quilter who just finished her first quilt ask me if I could do a pantograph that was full of circles. I told her that because I didn’t have robotics that there was no way I could do that. There are a lot of people out there who expect perfection, and well, I can’t deliver that and that is a large part of the reason why I stopped quilting for others.
If you want to quilt for others, I hope you have a circle of quilters you know or you live in an area that isn’t already saturated with quilters for hire. Also, I hope you know how to market your business online or are willing to learn how.
Do not expect people to help you get started. My local quilt shop wouldn’t even let me put my business cards in her shop, because I was inexperienced and brand new, therefore I didn’t meet her quilting standards. By cutting me off, she didn’t give anyone the opportunity to hire me, even those who had less money to spend on quilting and didn’t care if I simply meandered over their quilt. You have to learn somehow. I am not saying my work at the time was subpar, but I couldn’t do anything beyond a simple meander or edge to edge pantograph.
Learning to market your business will be key to building a long arm business. Online marketing on social media and having your own website are important. I know this may sound scary and foreign, but you can do it. I learned to do all of this and so can you.
You absolutely can quilt for a living, but it will take work on your part. Taking the time to learn your new machine, to build your skill set, learn to market your business and being consistent on social media will help you get there.
My Final Thoughts
As you can see there are lots of things to think about prior to purchasing a long arm machine. Please do some research first. Research the machines available. Try out every machine you can get your hands on. Please look at machine reviews as they will tell you a lot. Try not to get sucked into FOMO, because no, not everyone has a long arm in their living room. Find a dealer that will be there for you if and when something goes wrong. Pick a dealer that will not charge you $200 or more to come set the machine up for you. You spent thousands of dollars on the machine and this is just petty, but I hear it happens a lot.
If you do decide to buy a long arm, keep an open mind and do the work to build your skill set. You can do this!
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