It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago, but it has been a year since we’ve added a whole new set of paper pantographs to our studio. We kept all the old pantographs at the studio and most of them are still available on our website, but it is always nice to refresh our selection from time to time. The newer designs have been very popular this past year with our longarm machine renters. Designs like Seamless and Bolero are loved by beginners and advanced quilters alike for their simplicity and generic appeal. Designs like Lorien’s Phoenix and Oh My Feathers add great classic forms to the mix. Whatever your style and skills may be, there is a pantograph out there for you. Check out a couple of our longarm machine renters using our one year anniversary designs.

Lorien's Phoenix Paper Pantograph

This is Beth with her quilt of bright red poppies. The Irish chain design combined with the good use of a large print is very appealing. The extra large outer border will look amazing when this quilt is laid out on the bed. She quilted it with Lorien’s Phoenix, a design by Hermione Agee. Because of the prints in the quilt, it is a little hard to see, but this design has a very Rococo flair that adds a real sense of elegance and luxury. It works well with the classic and bold nature of this quilt top. Beautifully done, Beth.

Seamless Paper Pantograph

Another favorite of these newer designs is Seamless. This paper pantograph is a simple loopy meander that just swirls around the top. Free motion meander can be intimidating. It seems simple, but keeping things even and consistent from the beginning to the end is not automatic. It’s not overly hard, but it does take a little practice. Seamless can help with those fears giving you something to follow. For those of you who haven’t read about Dennis previously, he’s a new quilter. His mother is an excellent quilter and I guess he must have inherited some of her skills. The loopy meander just looks amazing on this because it doesn’t fight with the detail of the piecing.

Cottonwood Paper Pantograph

This beautiful creation is from Emily. I love the clean lines and all the squares formed in the negative spaces. She made a square between the stars that is emphasized with those tan little blocks in the middle. It's a very lovely design. She quilted this with a paper pantograph called Cottonwood. This has puffy three lobed echoed flowers all over it. It is a nice, feather like edge to edge design that would go with lots of quilt tops.

There are many more pantographs that have reached their anniversary, and even more patterns that have been used and loved here for longer than that. Paper pantographs are great ways to put an edge to edge design on a quilt. They are less expensive than a groovy or design board, and more structured than free-motion. If you haven’t tried one yet, why not? I suggest adding it to your list of quilting skills.