dramaqueenB Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Hello lovely experts. I have just ordered my new Millie, and am rebuilding my studio space to suit. I have been told the 12' frame takes up approximately 12' by 5' but how much space do I REALLY need around it to work from the front and pantos from the back? I am upgrading from a mid arm with storage space beneath. Is that possible under the Millie frame (storing a row of plastic bins of fabric). The frames set up at the APQS dealer have nothing beneath them so I wanted to check with those who may also have limited space. Mine has a motorized fabric advance with a foot pedal. Don't want anything to get in the way of operation, but space is definitely at a premium. Also, what is the usable measurement for actual quilting on a 12' frame. My dealer says I can get a queen on no problem, and maybe a king. I don't expect to need more than 109", but does anyone have actual measurement or experience? I couldn't find that info on the very comprehensive website. I have loved learning all kinds of things in the forum over the past many months as I've narrowed my search for a long arm. Thank you all for your generous sharing of information, ideas, experience and advice!! Looking forward to more, Beth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie in Ok Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Beth congratulations on your new baby your gonna love it! I have a 12 ft frame and I have about two feet of space on the front and back and on the motorized feed end. The other end is up against the wall. It would be nice to have a little more space but have to take what I can get and determined to make it work. I probably would have cut a hole in the wall if I had too. LOL! I also have a 110 quilt on the frame right now and still have a little more area I could squeeze on to it. My zippers are120 inches so I think there is a little more room but it will be a little tricky to work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dramaqueenB Posted September 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Thanks Bonnie!! That helps a great deal! Yup, I'm pretty excited. Thanks for taking the time to respond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Congratulations, Beth! I just took off a quilt with a 118" backer. I have a 12' frame and it left little room to park the machine, but it worked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dramaqueenB Posted September 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Fantastic, Linda!!! Would anyone care to chime in regarding storage under the frame below the panto table? Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Fantastic, Linda!!! Would anyone care to chime in regarding storage under the frame below the panto table? Thanks!! Lots? Lots and lots? There is a lot of room under the panto table, though I don't know the exact measurements. You can fit many bins full of whatever you need. I keep a big box of Warm & White batting under the table and there's a lot of room left. The front side will accommodate several rolling carts with drawers, a favorite of many owners. If your customers bring their projects in bags, you can line them up chronologically under there, or place them in individual bins. Someone had massive storage containers under the frame---hoping they see this and post some pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Row Studio Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 My husband made me a rolling frame to hold two rolls of batting that is on one side under my table and on the other end I have a Ikea storage drawer system and a couple of rolling plastic containers I do have to pull the foot pedal on each side as I need it but, its not a problem for me. enjoy your long arm and show us picture when yo get set-up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bliss Quilter Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Beth you will love you new toys. I feel your excitement, my Miss Millie arrives on Tuesday next week. Terry & Linda can you post pictures of your toys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Row Studio Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Beth you will love you new toys. I feel your excitement, my Miss Millie arrives on Tuesday next week. Terry & Linda can you post pictures of your toys? Hi Judith here are a couple of pics of my quilting studio a bit messy but we are in the middle of harvest and I am trying to change my leaders so I can put a monster quilt on first chance I get ... my batting trolley was made by my husband he made it so I can put a wide or narrow bolt on with some room bags of batting if I want under I love it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Terry I love your batting holder that rolls under your machine. I may have to look into doing something like that. Right now I have my batting strung on a rope under my frame. It works but would be great to have it movable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oma Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Beth, as you can see, I have a lot of stuff under my 12' table and I've added stuff since this pic was taken. I can pass the foot peddle up and down in front of the table and front to back easily. I have mine against the wall on the motorized fabric advance end. It isn't a problem at all. I have several feet on the other end because that's the entry into my room. I have a couple of feet in the back so I can walk around and several feet in the front before I am up against my cutting table. It all works well. The second pic was taken when I remodeled my room and just had the flooring put in so the room is empty. This is the machine in a 13' x 25' empty room. I now have shelving on all the walls and two of the biggest Koala sewing tables and large cabinet for my AccuQuilt Studio machine...lots of stuff. I think there are pics of the process posted here on the forum. I can get a fairly large quilt on my 12' frame. It's 144 inches then you subtract for the inches you can't really use. I think I have put close to a 120" quilt on before, but I wouldn't routinely do that. It's a lot of work and I just don't have the stamina to do that anymore. I would make an exception if I was doing something for myself. Most of my quilts are 90 -100 inches wide and I don't have a problem. I load them top to bottom instead of sideways anyway. If I use my computer though it's a different story because I have to allow space for the unit. I don't use it much though so I take it off until I need it. Your Millie has a larger throat space, but otherwise the table should be the same as mine. I hope everyone has answered some of your questions. Congratulations on your upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Congratulations Beth on your new machine! I have a 14 ft frame and sometimes wonder if I could have gotten by with a 12 ft one...I do occasionally have a really large quilt but nothing larger than 118 and it seems that Linda was able to get that on her frame....someday when I upgrade, I will go to a smaller frame... Just wanted to comment that I love all of the batting bar storage ideas! They all seem to be made by an ingenious DH and wonder why APQS hasn't come up with that as an add on option to our frames....my DH is way too busy to build that for me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dramaqueenB Posted September 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Well this makes me more excited than ever. Thank you all for chiming in and for the pics. What a terrific help it is to have access to all of your great ideas and experience. I was worried storing things under might interfere with movement or use of the machine, and am very encouraged it will hold so much. My mid arm has a useful shelf underneath which, like many of us, I have completely filled up with crates of fabric. It also has a batting bar, which I'm still sorting out how to replace. Terry's husband may have a new business... In any event, thank you thank you for the feedback. I'm moving furniture and boxes this weekend. And now I know where to put it all. I WILL post pics later on. Beth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingpup Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 HI, I have my Lucey on a 12 foot frame in my basement room....the room itself is only about 10 1/2 feet X 16 although I have a bit more of the length but an oil tank occupies part of the that space and also some tall cabinets at one end so I have just 16 feet clear to walk around the frame....it is enough room although I would not want it to be any less. As it is in a basement, I do not store batting or thread down there other than for a short period of time....I have my batting supply up in the attic...so I get lots of exercise. I made a sling for under my table out of an old full sized sheet and I just use that to keep my batting off the floor...it works great and was low cost and is easily removable.....I do have space in the basement out of the room to store a few more things on shelves and also I have a cutting table on bed risers for trimming the quilt after quilting and also I use it for cutting borders, backings, etc....the rest of the piecing and cutting I do upstairs...works for me I just quilt for myself though....Lin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkey1030 Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 The fabric advance adds a few inches to the length on the right hand side of the machine, according to the techs that taught the road show this past week (where I put a deposit on my millie). He said to plan for 12 foot 8 inches. My room is just a few inches longer than that. I know some folks put their machine at an angle to leave more room around the end to walk to the backside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 I have a friend whose room is so small that she ended up using the closet just to house her Freedom 12 ft table. No room to spare on both table ends. It works for her, she crawls under the table to work on the other side of the Longarm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted August 5, 2015 Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 I have 18" of space behind the legs on the pantograph side of my machine table as I now sit on a stool to do all my pantographs with the Precise Pantograph System. The tables side of my machine is chock full of stored things! AS long as they don't go higher than 24" I can raise and lower it all I want. I keep the front side of the under machine fairly clear so that I can sit on my drafting chair and reverse sew if I need to or do fine detailed work. I do have rolling carts either end 12 A4 size drawers from our Officeworks that contain all the bits and pieces I would need for quilting, such as needles, bobbins, oil etc and the other contains all my templates. Actual floor space for the machine and walk around and quilting is 15ft by 8ft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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