Longarm Quilting Secrets NO ONE Tells You About!

[@reginamiller7351]

I was blessed to receive a Grace quilt frame for Christmas (I started quilting on a sit down mid-arm, moving the material). Excited to learn the new skill of the long arm techniques. Definitely need help with loading, leaders and tricks to help me be a better quilter. I loved yourvideo using the IPad to practice. Very helpful to a newbie learning a new way to quilt. I hope you keep making these videos. Thanks !!

[@kathy-quilts-university]

We have a ton more we are going to share. So excited for you and your new frame. It will be so much easier than using a sit-down push method of quilting. Make sure you have the notification button clicked so you know when we release a new video. Let us know of videos you want! Thanks, Lynn

[@barbaramcdonald1823]

Good idea always need good ideas about longarming

[@kathy-quilts-university]

Thank you so much Barbara, We have a ton of great little hints and tips that we will be sharing in 2025 so stay tuned! - Lynn

[@KarenMitchell-q5b]

Thanks for this video, it was very helpful.

[@kathy-quilts-university]

Glad it helped - we try to share what we have learned through the years!

[@ShelleyHeinz]

I never thought of using a small quilt sandwich to check stitch formation, run the new oil thru, etc. I always use the 'extra 4 inches' at the side of the quilt. This would be MUCH easier to see the back of the piece to check for proper stitches. Thank you for this hint!

[@kathy-quilts-university]

Thanks Shelley! We have always done this for the last 28 years and we hardly even think about it. I thought I should share this tip because there are so many quilters that could benefit from this simple hack.

[@MyLogHomeLife]

I hold a small quilt sandwich on the bars next to the quilt I’m quilting using heavy duty magnet bars from Harbor Freight. Make sure the sandwich is long enough to extend past the bars.

[@jennystrahley927]

What a great idea! Thanks so much for the tip. I also use the extra area on the side of my quilt to get oil moving, but then I have to get a flashlight and mirror to see underneath to check bobbin tension stitches. Your idea will be so much easier! I've had a Grace 15R midarm for about 5 years and I love it! I see a video on the side of my screen from your channel about QCT 6. Looks like I will be subscribing to your channel for more great tips and tricks! Glad your video popped up on my feed today! 😊

[@kathy-quilts-university]

Probably the biggest reason we use a sew off piece is that since it isn't pinned to the frame we can check the thread tension and it won't be affected by how tight the quilt is tensioned on the frame. Whenever I have thread break or shred I go to my sew off piece and see if it happens there as well. Thanks for the great comment Jenny!

[@VirginiaTaberski]

Never thought to use a sew off piece. Will definitely try.

[@kathy-quilts-university]

​@@VirginiaTaberskiHey @VirginiaTaberski, this is such a small thing, but it has a big impact.

[@tsteele501]

Thanks for the helpful information.

[@kathy-quilts-university]

We are really happy to share little tips like that. Kathy has a ton of them. Looking forward to sharing more helpful, time saving tips

[@donnaclary7144]

Thank you! I never thought to do this!

[@kathy-quilts-university]

Glad to share, really appreciate your comment

[@DebraDrew-hf7jy]

Super ideas!! Thank you

[@kathy-quilts-university]

Glad to help - Anything we can do to make quilting easier we want to share. Lynn

[@teresaslagle2794]

Very useful knowledge thank you

[@kathy-quilts-university]

We’ve been sharing this with our customers for years, but it turns out it’s not as widely known as we thought!

[@deborahparks8331]

Good idea !

[@kathy-quilts-university]

Glad you liked it! Amazing how some of the simplest things can be so helpful

[@sheryltruman2029]

That was Very Helpful, I'm getting ready to get a grace midarm machine plus a frame. I also just subscribed to your channel

[@kathy-quilts-university]

We have special event pricing on all the Grace products, we can save you extra money! The pricing lasts through Saturday.

[@kathy-quilts-university]

We cannot list the prices on our website but you can call 888-826-0222 and I can tell you how much the system you are looking at will cost. - Lynn

[@nancybailey1635]

Great tip.

[@kathy-quilts-university]

Thanks for watching! We love sharing.

[@BethNeutze]

I moved my machine to an area with no technician,so I'm having to learn how to do everything myself. Thank you for the great tip.

[@kathy-quilts-university]

We are happy to help. Let us know when you need to learn something new so we can make a video if we don't already have one

[@BethNeutze]

@kathy-quilts-university I'm trying to learn how to time my machine to see if that's what's causing irregular stitches. I had worked on tension challenges and it was working fairly well. However, I bent a needle and it hasn't sewn correctly since. I even purchased a new stitch plate because the old one was nicked. I really enjoyed my machine when it was running well.

[@terrigoodson759]

I didn't realize there was another spot on top to oil. Checking tension with just a smaller sandwich will be so much easier... getting underneath with a flashlight is just annoying. Love the video!

[@kathy-quilts-university]

Glad you learned something new! This is such a simple way to check tension, I am so surprised that more people that teach quilting don't recommend it. Thanks for your comment. - Lynn

[@CarolynRiha]

Canned air blows lint and threads into your machine. It is not recommended.

[@kathy-quilts-university]

I’ve opened the machines to work on them, and the Grace Company Longarm Machines don’t let lint past the bearing. Kathy’s Gammill Classic has had lint blow out for 28 years without issues. Kathy quilts professionally and uses time-saving hints to increase profitability. Manufacturers try to avoid warranty issues by considering potential problems and avoiding unexpected actions. This is how we have always cleaned the lint out of our machines and have never had an issue. If a machine technician tells you not to do it on your machine then follow their advice. We have found it to not be the case in all the years we have been longarm quilting. We recommend people follow the manufacturer's instructions but in this case this works for Kathy and me (Lynn).