How do I exhibit pantos to customers?

[AnnHenry]

I'm new and I own only eight pantos!

Without buying more, can't yet, what would be some ways which I could show customers some of the panto patterns available?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[witha'K'quilting]

I am new too, but I have seen quilters stitch their pantos onto muslin in beige thread...2 to 3 rows so you get the overall look. Looks good in pictures too. Hope this helps.

[Quiltsinmotion]

On Myrna's DVD she just lays the pattern out on the quilt , that is what I do also . I pick up to five that I like on the quilt then client picks from them cuts down on time , some clients have a hard time making decisions so I only have a couple for them .

as Myrna says KEEP IT SIMPLE

[Susanne.Hughes]

Hello Anne,

Do you mean the ones you have, or do you mean other Pantos that are available?

If it is the first instance............... do a sample of each.

If it is the latter, most Panto producers have catalogues that you can download (check Lorien quilting as an example). Put them in a nice display book and be prepared to order as your customers require.

I would also talk to the different panto designers and find out what they consider easier or harder to do for someone who is just starting out. They will also let you know which pattern in their design range is more open and which are more dense, so you can charge accordingly.

Regards,

[busybee]

AnnHenry

I have pantos that I make a copy or scan them and then shrink to fit several on a page. It may be orginal size or shrunk down but will tell customer. I mark it on page so I can remember the size of pantos. I found a thread on forum about using a clear plastic sheet to use with eraser marker and draw on over a section to show customer what it looks like. I have not tried it yet but will be using this method to show customers.

[Mary Beth]

I am a Dawn Cavanaugh fan and have taken all of her classes. She has samples of her work (freehand) stitched on Quilter's Sateen and it looks awesome. So I decided to do that with my pantos and Circle Lord patterns so customers could see the designs stitched out. I started with CL and they looked very, very good. I used the same color thread as the fabric so you didn't see any bobbles or mistakes. The sateen that I purchased is 108" wide and I just stitched a double line right down the center as I went, then I could stitch patterns on either side of the center line. It was a bit time consuming, but you have 2 for the price of one and you can make them as long as you want....or as long as the fabric is....hope this make sense.

[grannyju]

I am pretty new too but this is what I do. I have an old roll of clear overhead projection film. I cut off about a 1 to 1 1/2 feet of film and trace a portion of a panto pattern onto the film with a sharpie. That way I can just place it on the quilt top and see how it is going to look. It really helps me decide what works and what doesn't.

Julie:)

[Quilting Heidi]

I too have stitched out samples of my pantos like Mary Beth did. My customers like to see what it looks like quilted most of the time. Julie I like your idea as well!

[quiltmonkey]

You all come up with great ideas!

[ramona-quilter]

These are some great ideas. I like the idea of downloading the catalog. It has prices in it but customers don't care what pantos cost us.

When I am looking for a particular panto, I like to see what it looks like stitched out. I belong to MQ Resource forum also and they have a nice Panto Preview forum (free) where you can get into on the panot name, size, designer and the stitchout. It is very helpful to show my customers what the pattern looks like stitched on a quilt.

http://mqresource.com/forum/index.php?s=e04ef0475658ff78a976c5dce5ea2166&showforum=32

[AnnHenry]

Oh, dear, I didn't make myself clear. And I pride myself on being such a good communicator! ! That always happens when I get cocky.

What I was trying to ask for was the "download catalog" idea to show customers the variety of pantos that are available that I just haven't purchased yet but will if they want them.

Thank you for all the good ideas, and it is always rewarding when others find my inquiries of value to them.

[CucumberQuilting]

Hi, just so you'll know, you'll soon have a collection of pantos as big as your stash of fabric and thread! I have pantos I've never used, and maybe never will, but they were so darn irrisistable.

Anyway, a longarmer friend of mine who is MUCH more organized than I am, made a photocopy of each panto as she purchased them and then takes photographs of her customer quilts using the pantos and puts them together in a binder. It's really attractive and is a good way to demonstrate how a certain pattern will translate to a quilt.

[mrsbishwit]

What I do mostly revolves around my website.

I first download images of the pantos that I have and then download the images of the ones that I would be willing to purchase if the customer wanted it. Then once they are on my website I create a document of the images that I can print out and put in a binder (for when a customer wants to look through pantos at my house or if I meet them at the LQS), I also keep my thread cards from Superior threads in the binder as well.

Then I try to put most of the quilts I quilt on my website under customer quilts with the name of the panto that I used on it, this provides the visual if they want to see it stitched out, without needing alot of space in my studio to store the stich outs.