JoNolen1 Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Hi everyone.... I'm getting ready to do my first panto..... I've seen videos on where to put my 'dots' top and bottom, but none had a dashed outline of the top of the previous row.... how does this change the positioning of my 'dots' ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie H Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 Below is a panto with dots. Do you mean these kind of dots? First, position your panto on your table top so that the panto is straight. Hold it in place so that it does not shift. I made long tube bean bags to hold my pantos in place. One thing to remember. Your laser is going to be in the same spot as your needle, so wherever you position your laser light, that is where your needle is. Position your needle so that it is at the top edge of the quilt. Now, adjust your laser light so that it is positioned in the same place as the bottom black/blue dashed line in this panto. On this particular panto, you will first want to stitch the dotted/dashed section so that you don't have an unquilted portion on the quilt top. Ideally stitch from right to left, from the back of the machine. Next, you are going to stitch the solid line that is just above that dotted/dashed section of the panto. You will not need to move your laser or reposition your quilt top to do this second pass. In this case, the second pass will be your first completed pass. Once you are done stitching that "second pass," you will need to advance your quilt on the frame. I do not use the need down position way because I'm scared it will damage the quilt top. I reposition the quilt with the needle up. Also, I do not reposition the laser. To position the quilt top so that it is ready for the next pass, move your machine, with the needle up, so that the laser light is positioned on the highest part of the dotted panto pass that you stitched first. Now, you want to roll your quilt sandwich so that the high spot of the quilted/stitched row is in the exact same spot as your needle. You may need to double check that your machine stayed in place after you advanced your quilt and that the laser light is where it needs to be on the highest portion of that dotted panto. Remember that your laser light should be in the same position as your needle. I like to check the positioning all the way down the panto once I advance, just to make sure everything down the line is lining up. Depending on how wide my quilt is, I may chose five or six spots to check the highest position on the dotted part with my laser light and that the highest part of the quilted line matches up with the highest part of the panto. This ensures that I have proper spacing between the rows. Before you start stitching the next row, don't forget to stay-stitch the sides of the quilt so that your hopping foot doesn't catch on the edge of the fabric as you are stitching your panto. Also, if you have to raise your take-up bar (I don't think APQS machines need you to do this, yes?), you will want to adjust your take-up bar and then position your laser (by moving your machine, not your laser) at the high spot on the panto. A lot pantos don't have a dotted section but instead they have a solid line section, usually in a different color, like this. Anyway, that's how I do it. I tried to find the You Tube video I referred to when I started doing pantos but it is gone. Oh, I just thought of something. There are some pantos that have a solid line to position your laser on. These pantos are more "straight" or "row-y" and don't have the same interlocking movement the two pantos above do. For these pantos you will probably use a solid line to position your laser but hopefully you will be able to figure it out. Also watch out, some pantos come with little instructions about where to position your laser. I just did one like that. I guess what I'm saying is there are variables to look out for! The one below has the dots that you would use to position your laser on as you advance. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quilterbee1 Posted May 5, 2013 Report Share Posted May 5, 2013 Bonnie, thank you for explaining and your tips on panto quilting.as I do mostly custom(wild and freeee!), switching my brain to panto mode always makes me pause. Your post helps me too :-). Amie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie H Posted May 5, 2013 Report Share Posted May 5, 2013 You're welcome, Amie! I would love to do free motion designs but am just not that good at them. I admire you gals/guys that are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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