Hand guided machine quilting by Ruth Gevers.
The Pattern Spacing Calculator will space pantograph patterns evenly over the length of the quilt and ensure that whole patterns are quilted at the end of the quilt. In order to calculate the spacing, the following information must be entered. It is very important to measure everything accurately as even small errors will add up very quickly.
Quilt Length - The entire length of the quilt in inches to be quilted. Use the chart on the right to convert fractions to decimals.
Pattern Width - The width of the pattern in inches to be quilted. Measure the pattern very carefully from the top to the bottom of the pattern. The measurement must be entered in decimal format. For example 6.25 not 6 1/4.
Pattern Overlap - For interlocking patterns, the length in inches that the pattern overlaps or interlocks. For non interlocking patterns, use 0.
Unquilted Top Margin - Area at top of quilt in inches to be left unquilted. Make sure you include the seam allowance needed for adding binding and any necessary "breathing space" for the pattern. If there is to be no top margin, you must enter a 0.
Unquilted Bottom Margain - Area at the bottom of the quilt in inches to be left unquilted. Make sure you include the seam allowance for adding binding and any necessary "breathing space" for the pattern. If there is to be no bottom margin, you must enter a 0.
After entering the five fields described above, press the calculate button. Note that if you fail to enter numeric data for each of those fields, that the form may return values of NaN (Not a Number) as a result. The following fields will then be displayed.
Number of Rows - The number of rows of the quilting pattern that will be quilted on the quilt. If the space between rows is too small, you may change the number of rows and press the adjust row count button. The number of rows will be adjusted as well as the space between rows and the distance between start of rows.
Space Between Rows- The amount of space between the rows of quilting in inches.
Distance Between Start of Rows - The amount of space in inches between the start of one row and the start of the next row. This number is actually the quilting pattern width plus the space between rows.
Once you are happy with the number of rows to be quilted and the space between the rows, press the generate table button. A table showing the starting point for each row will be displayed. The starting point of each row must be marked on the quilt before mounting since slight stretching may occur when the quilt is loaded or during the quilting process. Lay the quilt flat on the floor and using a measuring tape, mark the edge of the quilt with your favorite marking method (I use safety pins). Make sure you mark the side of the quilt that you will be quilting first. That is since you are marking the STARTING point for quilting each row, there will now be a top and bottom of the quilt for quilting purposes. The top of the quilt is the end that will be quilted first.
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