Pantograph FAQs

Here are a few helpful tips to get you on the right path to picking the perfect quilting pattern for the next top you send our way!

• Purchasing New Pantographs - If you do not see anything that strikes your fancy, let us know. We LOVE an excuse to shop for new pantographs. Some great sites are Sew Shabby Quilting, Intelligent Quilting, The Panto Shop, The Longarm League, and Karlee Porter. Other pattern designers that have been super supportive of TCQ and with whom we love to do business are Dastardly Designs, Modern Textiles, Mistletoe Quilting, Julie Hirt, and The Quilting Mill.

• Inspired By Something? - See a panto elsewhere (Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook…) that you adore and want to see if I can find it for you? Great! Just point me to the original source and I’ll let you know if I can make it happen.

• New Pantograph Disclaimer - The first time stitching out a panto can be a learning process. Most of the time we can spot potential problems before we even purchase it, but sometimes we discover it during the quilting at which point it’s too late to do much about it. We cannot reduce pricing or spend copious amounts of time making adjustments due to unforeseen issues with a quilting pattern. Know these occurrences are really rare and our experience keys us in to issues early, but it’s worth mentioning that the risk is yours.

• Potential Additional Costs -

  • For any pantograph you request we purchase we will pass the cost along to you. It’s typically $10-16 per pattern. If the pattern is extra dense or takes a long time to stich it may be subject to a higher per square inch price. This may not be obvious until it is stitching out though we will do our best to make that judgment call before purchasing on your behalf.

  • Requests of our current pantos at a smaller scale than what we would usually run it may also result in additional charges both to make up for the additional time and thread this will take. This usually only applies to pantos already fairly dense and slow to stitch in combination with a request that is smaller than what we would naturally do on our own. We are happy to discuss this before quilting begins.

• Limitations - We cannot take on ALL pattern types as there are some limits to our machine’s software and some pantos are more labor intensive than others, but we are always happy to look over your choices. It’s super rare we can’t/won’t work with a pantograph.

• Discount Patterns - Discount Pantograph prices cannot be combined with coupons or ongoing specials on the same project.

• E2E Only - Just a reminder that TCQ focuses on Edge to Edge work ONLY. This means that we repeat the panto you select to the entirety of your quilt from one edge to the other. We do not take custom orders.

• Scale - You may notice that none of our pantograph images have rulers on them like you might see with online fabric listings. This is because there is no set scale for quilting patterns and TCQ has a decent amount of control over the size. If you have a preference on how you want the panto to look please do not hesitate to share with me. My general philosophy is guided by the recommended size from the original panto designer, the recommended quilting density of the batting you select, but mostly, what feels most appropriate in relationship to the piecing of the quilt top. Not only does this tend to look best but it also ensures that the quilting is best serving it’s true purpose - appropriately securing down fabric and reinforcing seams. I encourage you to look over the TCQ IG/FB posts to get a feel for our general aesthetic. I encourage you to make no assumptions if you have a specific scale in mind - just reach out and we can clarify! Beyond that, I have to assume that you like the work of ours you have seen thus far and are trusting us to do what we feel looks best. This is, after all, part of the artistry that we bring to the table and to your project.

• Density - While we do have control over the scale, by nature, some of the pantos are just more dense than others regardless of how big or small we stitch them. Most of them you can tell simply by looking at the mock ups on our panto page. For instance, Swivel Circle and Sunrise Chevron have more lines more closely together than Belly Bop and Bubbles. However, some are a little harder to tell. If you have a strong preference on the density of your quilting we encourage you to mention it on your order form so we can give you a heads up should your quilting selection not jive with your density preference.

• Orientation - We are working hard to make sure the photos we present in our pantograph library match the orientation they should be on your quilt. Some have definite ups and downs, and some require we turn your quilt sideways while quilting so they are correct once we are finished. However, know that many of the pantos look virtually the same no matter which way we stich them and in those cases we usually turn your quilt sideways to save time during the quilting process. This entire topic is fairly nuanced and shouldn’t make a difference nor be something you have to worry about, but it’s worth mentioning just in case you have a question or concern.

• Nuances - Oh, the nuances. There are a gazillion. I’m not going to bother you with any of them here but I am going to say that some of our pantos just have quirks to them. We are working to list these quirks within the descriptions of the specific pantograph for you to look over while making your selection. If I see an obvious problem during the prep process I will certainly point it out (ie: you want straight line quilting but your quilt is 100” wide). But otherwise I am going to assume you’ve seen our notes and are cool with whatever those particular quirks might be.