Quilting with Pantographs | Step-by-Step Guide for 2024

Quilting from the back with pantographs is a quick and easy way to finish quilts. Watch this episode to pick up tips and tricks that will make it a breeze! This video is all about how to quilt pantographs on a longarm quilting machine.
Kim and Kristina, the Handi Quilter Studio Educators, love bringing these "Watch and Learn" longarm quilting tutorial videos to you every Tuesday, at 12PM noon!
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[@HandiQuilter]

Thank you all for joining us today! We also have a blog post on our HQ website with more pantograph tips! Link: handiquilter.com/pantographs-know-before-you-sew/

[@larryg6221]

Thank you for helping me out. I'm getting my quilter this week. Also, thank you for not putting unrelated info in the video like pictures of your wedding or last vacation or talking about a shopping spree. I turn those off immediately. Lol. I enjoyed both of you⁵ and you work well as a team!

[@WTLAQ]

Thank you

[@monaortego1204]

Awesome video for those of us not having a computer system! Thank you!

[@beckybunke808]

You showed some great techniques and shared many helpful tips. Thanks so much! I have problems trying to hear when my bobbin runs out and usually have gone another 6-10 inches past. I start checking my bobbin before I start a new row, depending on the size of the quilt, after 3-4 passes to see if I need to change bobbins so I don't run out during a pass.

[@elaineolsen6813]

Thank you ...... I was waiting for a HQ pantograph demo!! Can never have enough watch and learns. Thanks for your efforts.

[@HandiQuilter]

Hi Elaine, thank you so much!

[@lilianesklenarik4119]

I had my HQ Machine for 10 years before I first did a panto last year. Where were these all my life???? I can't believe I never did one before then. It would be an excellent way for a beginner to learn how to move with their machine and to listen to their machine. I now know exactly what my machine sounds like when the bobbin runs out! Your video was excellent. Recently I purchased some pantos with colored lines on them - because they required multiple passes to make the design. Something new to me.

[@marshadimond441]

I have watched a lot of panto videos but this was the best! I always have to take a lot of time to figure out the how to get the next row in the right place. Your explanation of that process was very easy to understand. Thank you.

[@HandiQuilter]

Thank you so much, Marsha!

[@stitchinginthebarn8307]

That looked like so much fun! Thank you for demonstrating this!

[@HandiQuilter]

You're so welcome!

[@jeanbarnes2481]

One thing that is important is that some pantographs are directional. It is easy to put it on the back, but have loaded the quilt top to the bar and end up with the quilting to be upside down. If you have a directional pantograph put some type of marker on it to remind you it is directional!!!!!

[@HandiQuilter]

Great tip, Jean!

[@beckybunke808]

Yes, I did this with a baptist fan pattern and was disappointed when I pulled it off the machine.

[@JanN-1952]

Love that dance LOL

[@HandiQuilter]

You have to have a little fun when quilting!!

[@JanN-1952]

I took a pic and blew it up. Got it.

[@barbarakempen2482]

Thanks, that was informative!

[@HandiQuilter]

Glad to have you here, Barbara!!

[@taniauntalan459]

Thank you!

[@HandiQuilter]

Thank you!!

[@JanN-1952]

Absolutely

[@isobelgreer7693]

Great information thank you. I use pantographs all the time. You guys have always have great tips.

[@HandiQuilter]

Thank you, Isobel!

[@shelleytheriault8526]

Putting masking tape down is much easier to use than drawing black lines on the plastic that you then need to clean off

[@annbradshaw848]

Thank you for this video ❤

[@HandiQuilter]

Thank you for joining us!!

[@lyndaplamann32]

Great video . Thank you!

[@HandiQuilter]

You're welcome!

[@lorimiller1906]

Thank you! There are some great tips here. The problem I have with my simply 16 is the laser shifts frequently by the time I get to the end of my row(s). I check and realign at every advance. I have the laser tightened as tight as possible (I do not have any hand strength issues so I know it’s tight, I’ve even used pliers, just in case) Any ideas how to keep it more steady in place? It has required a lot of unpicking when I’m doing a very detailed design.

[@HandiQuilter]

I am guessing that the screw has been overtightened and won't hold tight anymore. I would recommend contacting Handi Quilter's technical solutions to see if they have suggestions or if they might have a replacement part.

[@annerickerby2396]

Thank you for a great video, I was wondering when you come to your last row on a pantograph, do you remove pins and bast the edge of your quilt then finish your last row?

[@HandiQuilter]

Yes!!!

[@debbiedawson6778]

Great video So helpful! I tried my preview paper on the back of my Studio 3 HQ frame and the preview paper is wider than the back, riding up on the quilting rails. Did you cut the preview paper so that it fits? Thanks

[@HandiQuilter]

The preview paper is 20" wide so for a Studio frame, yes, you would need to cut it down a little.

[@WTLAQ]

I have an HQ Sixteen without Pro-Stitcher. It does have stitch regulation. What speed do you recommend? I have seen 50 and under? Still the same stitch per inch count - 10 to 12? Thank you!

[@HandiQuilter]

I recommend you play with the speed to determine what speed you are comfortable with!! Yes, 10-12 spi is a good number.

[@89sethy]

I do have a question: do you keep your eyes right on the laser light as you are quilting, or are you looking slightly ahead (similar to say, walking on a curb or balance beam, if that makes sense)?

[@HandiQuilter]

Excellent question! I generally recommend looking a little ahead at where you are going.

[@terrimattingly7890]

I always seem to have trouble with the sides of my quilt staying straight. After a row or two of the pantograph, the ending side has either gotten wider or narrower, usually narrower. So I am stitching into the batting and backing even though I am following my ruler mark of the edge of quilt side. Can you offer any tips to deal with that? I start with a square backing and have rolled the back and top on squarely.

[@HandiQuilter]

I would suggest getting a longarm centering tape that you can attach (I used double sided tape) to your idle pole. It will help you make sure that the quilt top is actually in the position you need it to be in. You can also double check that your laser isn't moving by lining it up with a previously stitched position and then checking that the laser is still matching the pantograph at the back of the machine.

[@terrimattingly7890]

@@HandiQuilter Thank you so much for your response. I have the centering tape. But double sided tape is a better idea than the painters tape I have been using 😜. I just finished a whole cloth quilt using rulers. I still have the same problem. The top rolled on evenly. But as I progressed, it became narrower, until I got to the bottom where it was still the original width. I don’t understand how it can go from being stacked evenly at the edges to shrinking in almost an inch on both sides in the middle of the quilt.

[@WTLAQ]

If I don't have a ghost line, how do I line it up? I am just adjusting to figure it out and now I have a little bit more of a gap than I want, in between rows. Thank you.

[@HandiQuilter]

Without the ghost lines, you just guestimate how much distance you need between the quilted row and the next row. Sorry I don't have a magical solution!!

[@gillrenshaw86]

Hi perhaps you could trace your panto design( I don't know what design you have sorry) then using some reference points you could make yourself a ghost line, just tape it to the side you need it on your pantogragh. If you look on the video, somewhere around the 10 min mark you can see how the ghost pattern is a repeat of the design. I would use backing parchment , it comes on a long roll and you can easily trace stuff on to it, but I'm in the UK and I don't know what it would be called in other parts of the world. Hopes this helps.

[@gillrenshaw86]

Sorry that would be Baking Parchment!!🤣🤣🤭

[@jkquiltsknits]

When doing pantos would there be any change in how tight your quilt is loaded. Should it be tighter or more loose than when quilting from the front?

[@HandiQuilter]

I keep it the same as when quilting from the front.

[@danielleduboc229]

Hello!

[@HandiQuilter]

Hello, friend! So glad you're here.

[@JanN-1952]

What is the name of the pantograph your showing?

[@HandiQuilter]

Oh, goodness!! I will have to do a little research and see if I can find it!!

[@HandiQuilter]

handiquilter.com/product/leaf-play/

[@kriscecere3601]

What is the pattern for that quilt in the back of you??

[@HandiQuilter]

Hey there! This is"Book Nerd" by Angela Pingel! Happy quilting!

[@janfelshaw8217]

It seems that I always find help for doing the straight rows but no help for the corners. That’s what I need. Other than that this was a helpful video.

[@larryg6221]

I am 5'11 and my frame seems to low and uncomfortable. Any rules on where the handles should be in proportion to my body?

[@HandiQuilter]

Generally it is recommended to have your arms at a 90 degree angle when holding the handle bars. Some people like their frame higher and some lower depending on their style of quilting and if they sit at all.