Pantograph Quilting Basics: How to Quilt Pantographs on Your Frame

Curious about Pantograph Quilting? This frame quilting technique helps you create gorgeous, flowing designs across your entire quilt top. Pantograph patterns are continuous-line, edge-to-edge designs that you trace with a laser light from the back of your machine.

Pantograph quilting might seem intimidating at first, but with a few simple rules and practice, you'll quickly master this quilting style. We all want our quilt tops to be beautifully quilted. Using pantographs to guide the design can help you create professional-looking results on ANY style of quilt frame.

Ready to start quilting?

In this tutorial, you'll learn:

1. Which accessories you'll need for pantograph quilting on any quilting frame and machine
2. How to load a quilt on your frame for pantograph quilting
3. How to begin quilting with pantographs using a partial first row
4. How to advance the quilt evenly so the pantograph design stays consistent
5. How to finish your quilt with a partial last row

Pantograph quilting is surprisingly easy, but there's one crucial step: advancing your quilt correctly.

Miss this, and you'll end up with a messy design. This is why I created a special color-coded advancing system. Follow these steps with any pantograph design from LeahDay.com, and you'll get great results with every quilt you create!

Pantograph quilting is a method of tracing a printed paper pattern to create a continuous, repeating design across your entire quilt top. Using a laser light mounted to your machine, you trace the pantograph design and stitch edge-to-edge across the quilt. The result? A consistently spaced, seamless quilting design that flows across the quilt from edge to edge.

The beauty of pantograph quilting lies in its simplicity. You don't need to spend hours memorizing free motion quilting designs or invest thousands on a computerized quilting system. The paper pantograph guides you, providing a clear line that even beginners can follow easily. 

You may not trace it perfectly - and that's okay! Pantographs create a soft, cuddly quilting texture that secures the layers together so your quilt can be used and enjoyed. On a typical patchwork quilt, small mistakes easily blend into the busy fabrics.

Here's something many quilting tutorials don't tell you: pantograph quilting works completely differently depending on your frame type. Rolling rail frames and hoop frames require entirely different approaches, rules, and techniques.

Rolling rail frames are the original home of pantograph quilting. These frames allow you to quilt across the entire width of your project in one continuous pass, making it easy to maintain consistent spacing between rows.

Hoop frames present unique challenges for pantograph quilting. Because of their smaller quilting area, you'll often need to advance your quilt both side-to-side and forward, creating multiple "zones" that must align perfectly to achieve the same effect.

This is a crucial point —it's why many quilters struggle with pantograph quilting. They're following instructions meant for a different frame type!

Rolling rail frames work best for pantograph quilting. These frames extend  larger than your quilt so you can stitch across from one edge to another in one pass. All videos in this tutorial demonstrate loading and quilting pantographs on rolling rail frames. Check out our current rolling rail frames from Grace Company below:

Pantograph quilting is an easy machine quilting technique, but requires a few special considerations:

1. You're quilting from the back of the frame
2. Your eyes are on the pantograph design, not the quilt
3. Problems can develop that you won't notice for several inches or even an entire row!

For this reason, you need to take extra steps when loading the quilt to ensure great results.

Basting the edges of the quilt is especially important for pantograph quilting. If you don't secure the sides, the quilting foot will likely catch on the quilt edges, as you can see below:

Follow these steps to load your quilt on a rolling rail frame:

1. Secure your backing fabric - Follow your quilting frame's instruction manual to attach backing fabric right side down on your frame. Roll the excess up on the front rail until the backing fabric is bouncy-tight - taunt enough to remove wrinkles, but not so tight that it distorts the fabric.
2. Use channel locks - Position the quilting foot two inches from the back rail and engage the channel lock on your machine. This locks your machine to stitch a straight line side-to-side.
   
   Note: The only Grace Company frames that don't come with channel locks are the Cutie and Cutie Breeze. Find channel locks for these frames here.
3. Attach the batting - Smooth out the batting and align it so the quilting foot will stitch ¼-inch from the edge. Baste-stitch the batting to the backing, using the locked machine as a guide to keep the batting edge parallel to the back rail.
4. Attach the quilt top - Unlock the channel lock and roll the machine ¼-inch toward you, then lock it again. Smooth out the quilt top so the edge aligns with the batting basting stitches. Stitch across again to secure the quilt top in place.
5. Smooth out the layers - With the batting and quilt top secured, smooth out the batting first, spreading it over the backing fabric to remove any wrinkles. Then smooth out the quilt top, letting it fall over the front rail.
6. Baste to secure layers - Unlock your channel lock and roll your machine to the middle of the quilt, as close as the machine will reach. Starting in the center, baste stitch to the left, then up the left edge of the quilt top. Break the thread. Return to the center and baste stitch from the center to the right edge of the quilt top. Stitch up the right edge and break the thread again.
7. Baste the entire Quilt or baste as you advance - You have a choice: baste the entire quilt this way, advancing it through the frame until all layers are securely stitched to the backing, or baste only each section as you quilt. 
   
   Basting the whole quilt upfront is usually faster and more effective. It's really easy to skip this step when you're advancing and excited to quilt the next row.

This is the method I use for loading my frames when quilting with pantographs, computerized quilting, or finishing a very special quilt.

No matter which style of frame you're using, make sure to only tighten the quilt to a "bouncy-tight" feel – firm enough to prevent puckers, but with enough give that the quilt can move naturally with your stitching.

When pantograph quilting, the first row of the design is very important. It sets the stage for the rest of the quilt and secures the top edge of the quilt.

Because quilts usually end with a partial last row, many quilters feel that starting with a partial first row looks "balanced," but you don't have to cut off the first row if you don't want to.

A partial first row is just for looks. It's not a requirement. If you find the extra steps of setting up rulers and positioning the quilt confusing, just stitch a full row and don't worry about it!

One last tip on quilting a partial first row with pantographs—only cut off ½ to 1 inch of the design. Remember, the goal is aesthetic balance, not maximum design removal. The more you cut off, the less quilting you accomplish in that row.

You can achieve the look by only removing ½ inch of the design. I promise, no one really cares if your quilt starts with a full or partial first row. It's 100% optional!

Not everyone falls in love with pantograph quilting immediately, and that's perfectly okay! For quilters who find the back-of-frame technique challenging, there is an alternative quilting method that gives you the same edge-to-edge quilting effect, but quilted entirely from the front of the frame.

Check out paper quilting stencils here

Paper quilting stencils can help you achieve the same quilted look, but with no additional accessories. If you're looking to save on cost, stencils are the way to go!

With this technique, you'll quilt through both the paper and your quilt at the same time, then tear away the paper afterward. Yes, this does add an extra step.

But for quilters who prefer quilting from the front of the frame, who don't want to invest in rear handlebars or a laser light, this is a great method to try!

If you've made it to this point, you've learned a LOT about pantograph quilting including: