Room enough?

[AnnaT]

Hi! I am trying to talk my husband into investing in a millenium, but I need to give him as much info as I can to convince him this is a good idea. I want to be able to quilt King-sized quilts, so I assum I will need a 14 foot table, etc. How much room will I realistically need to be able to set up the machine and still be able to move around it? Also, besides all that comes with the machine, what else will I need to buy? I want to take in enough business for the machine to pay for itself in a couple of years.

[White Rooster]

APQS has a business plan that you can use to help justify the cost of the machine. Just be realistic as to how many quilts you can actually do in a week/etc. Unless you become a full-time quilter right away, it might take more than a couple of years to pay for itself.

When it comes to studio size, I recommend at least 15x20 even though many of us have gotten by with less. Currently my 12' Millennium is in a room 10x20 and it's very tight. Fortunately, I have another sewing room and a room to greet my clients.

To start a business you will need batting, a variety of thread, pantographs, maybe some stencils and business cards. I highly recommend that you purchase the book "The Ultimate Guide to LONGARM MACHINE QUILTING" by Linda V. Taylor. It addresses all of these issues and much, much more.

Best wishes with your endeavor,

[Idahoquilter]

I also recomend the book by Linda Taylor. It was really great when I wanted to get a machine and know what I was getting in to. About your room, don't cheat yourself of any space. One thing that is not mention is that you are going to be doing a lot of walking around the machine. When you quilt you don't want to be too close to the machine otherwise you'll end up banging into it with a hip or thigh. I have been walking around my machine and run in to a corner. If you get a 14 ft table make sure that you have at least 2 feet on either end to walk around, then you have to take into consideration the width of it also.

[mrsbishwit]

I have a 12 ft table with the Liberty on it and I have no problem quilting king sized quilts (in fact most of the ones I get from my clients are either queen size or king size). My quilt studio used to be my living room and is 14 1/2 X 13 1/2. In addition to my long arm machine I also have a 5 ft desk that holds my computer and where I greet clients at and a 5 ft credenza that I do my regular sewing at in the same room. I am also able to fit 5 rolling drawer carts (the ones you can get at Target) in the space as well. It's amazing how much stuff you can fit in small spaces if you organize it well. But I agree if I could I would have loved more space.

I also purchased the book by Linda Taylor, it is definately a must have it also talks about running a business, gives tips/tricks and ways to make the learning curve easier and less complicacted.

Joann

[Calicoquilter]

Dear Anna,

I have a Liberty with a 14 foot table. My sewing room that my husband is building for me in the lower level of our home was 16 feet across and we thought that would be enough room. To our surprise, it was not. I have the motorized feed for the take-up roller and that adds on to the width. Anyway, after the machine arrived and we measured everything, I would have had 2 inches of space on each side. Since I didn't want to crawl under my machine evertime I needed to get to the other side, we decided to knock out what was going to be a closet to give me a few feet more of space. I will lose some storage space, but I will at least be able to walk around my machine.

Colleen:P

[John Mitchell]

The motor take up adds about 1-ft to the table and you will need at least 2-ft to get around the table. You need to allow at least 17 feet for a 14-ft and 15 feet for a 12-ft table. The other end of the table can go right up to a wall. These are minimum measurements.

John

[SandraC]

Something to consider if room is tight is to set up the machine diagonally.

Sandra