Longarm Preparatory
Learn your way around your longarm so you can quilt with confidence!
Welcome to Longarm Prep!
Longarm Prep(aratory) is all about helping you feel confident using your longarm quilting machine to quilt on a frame. This course is for you if you’ve had your longarm for a minute but still don’t feel comfortable using it very often; you’ve been trying to use your longarm but get frustrated; or you’re too darn scared to even plug it in!
Longarm Prep is here to show you the foundations of loading your quilts, adjusting your tension, and navigating your quilting plan— in just a few weeks.
Let me guess...
The whole “buying a longarm” thing happened one of these ways:
You wanted to quilt your own quilts but pushing and shoving a whole quilt under your domestic sounded frustrating— so you bought a longarm!
You tried one at a show, and it was super fun— so you bought a longarm!
You’ve heard that folks can make enough money quilting for others to pay for their own quilting habit— so you bought a longarm!
The only problem is that there’s not a whole lotta quilty action going on with that longarm these days (and that thing was expensive)! If that’s you— keep reading!
I’m going to show you how to use and love your longarm
You absolutely can see all of those longarming dreams come true! But first you need some foundational skills. That’s where Longarm Prep comes in — I’m going to show you:
What supplies you need to longarm. That big ol’ machine was already an investment. Let’s make sure you know which notions you need to get started (and which ones you don’t)!
The parts of your longarm. It’s a whole contraption — let’s talk about all the bars and buttons and bits.
How to load your quilts without confusion, tears, or puckers.
Actually quilt something! I’m going to show you how to get balanced tension, some first motifs to master, and how to actually move from one part of the quilt to another. You’ll be able to quilt the motifs you want where you want them — with beautiful results!
Excited to drive that machine like a Quilting Rockstar?
“I loved the professionalism and teaching style. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought I could do this! This class has made my long arming fun!”
-Gail Stafford
What is Longarm Prep?
This comprehensive, introduction to longarming course will transform you from feeling scared of or overwhelmed by your longarm to confidently loading and quilting your own quilts in just 4 weeks!
Buying a longarm is a big deal — one that deserves some celebration! Longarm Prep is a celebration of this milestone in your quilting journey as well as your stepping stone to using your longarm with confidence and skill.
Longarm Prep(aratory)…..
Allows you to learn your way around your machine from the privacy and comfort of your own home.
Going out to a longarm class can be super fun— but you need to feel more comfortable on your particular machine. Rather than filling yard after yard of practice fabric at a dealer or quilt show, let’s get you finishing your very own quilts!
Connects you to other longarming rockstars-in-training around the world so you can help and encourage each other.
Sure, it’s easier to master your longarm quilting machine from the comfort of your own home, but that doesn’t mean you want to do it by yourself! Each cohort of Longarm Prep will have its very own private Facebook Group so you can chat in near-real-time with your fellow classmates.
Is ready when you are, regardless of geography or time zone, with on demand, prerecorded video lessons.
Whether you live around the globe from me, have a day job, work nights, have kids at home that make your schedule irregular, or anything else, the lessons of this course are pre-recorded, so you can watch it whenever you want! Plus, once you purchase, you have access forever, to watch and rewatch as often as you want or need.
Enroll in Longarm Prep(aratory) now!
Here’s what’s included in the Longarm Prep course:
Introduction
Let’s talk housekeeping: meet me, and grab your course workbook.
Unit 1: Supplies & Set Up
Confident longarming starts with the proper supplies, understanding the basics of our machine anatomy, and knowing how to stand to quilt without pain
Unit 2: Loading Your Longarm:
What are all these bars, and how the heck do I get my quilt on them anyway??
Unit 3: Adjusting Tension
Top tension, bobbin tension, TOWA gauges, and troubleshooting wonky stitches are all covered in this unit.
Unit 4: Navigating Your Quilting Plan
This is the real fun stuff— how to move that big ol’ machine over your top, learn your first motifs, and finish your quilts!
Imagine this…..
Just a few weeks from now, you’ve learned the nitty gritty of setting up your machine and adjusting your tension, how to baste a quilt, how to stitch your first motifs, and how to navigate around a quilt on a frame.
But even more than that, you have a specific, guided, step-by-step plan for transforming your quilt tops into beautifully longarmed quilts.
At the end of this course, you will feel confident longarming your own quilts and will be ready to master even more complex techniques!
Testimonials from Longarm Prep Rockstars
How the course helped even before getting a longarm:
How the course helped transition from a domestic to a longarm:
How the course gets you to actually use the longarm you already have:
The Longarm Prep(aratory) Experience
Longarm Prep Course ($497 value)
Lifetime access to four units of quality video lessons teaching you all the skills you need for successful longarm quilting, from start to finish:
What supplies you need to longarm. That big ol’ machine was already an investment. Let’s make sure you know which notions you need to get started (and which ones you don’t)!
The parts of your longarm. It’s a whole contraption — let’s talk about all the bars and buttons and bits.
How to load your quilts without confusion, tears, or puckers.
Actually quilt something! I’m going to show you how to get balanced tension, some first motifs to master, and how to actually move from one part of the quilt to another so you can quilt the motifs you want where you want them— with beautiful results!
Course workbook that includes quick guides, doodle pages, and more!
Private Longarm Prep Community ($197 value)
This community is the super secret sauce! You have lifetime access to the group, where you can:
Ask questions to your fellow Longarm Rockstars
Share your work at any time
BONUS: Intro to FMQ ($35 value)
A digital mini-course to teach you the basics of your first free motion quilting motifs.
That’s a total value of more than $729 USD!
An amazing deal when you consider the cost of sending quilts to someone else year-over-year. Or consider the cost of taking multiple in-person classes that may or may not get you results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a particular machine?
This course is for beginner longarmers working with a basic to intermediate longarm on a quilting frame. I teach the class on my HandiQuilter Moxie.
How is this different from Free Motion Quilting Academy?
FMQ Academy is all about learning the motifs— about 30 of them! Longarm Prep focuses on the mechanics of using a longarm. I highly recommend taking both courses.
Will you teach me how to do computerized designs or pantographs?
No— this class focuses on loading your quilts properly, adjusting your tension, and learning how to navigate a quilt on a frame while doing hand-guided free motion quilting motifs.
I want to turn this into a business — will this class teach me how to do that?
Longarm Prep will teach you the foundational longarming skills. If you’d like to know more about the business side of a longarming gig, check out Jess Zeigler’s Rookie Season Course. (affiliate link)
But all this can be yours for just $197 USD
You get the course, the private community, replays of demos, and Intro to FMQ.
That’s right -- for the cost of sending just ONE quilt out, you can learn to quilt all of your quilts on your very own longarm!
Ready to get quilting?
Awesome — because I’m ready to stitch with you!
Join Longarm Prep
I am so excited to watch you become a true Longarming Quilting Rockstar!
You need a class that lasts longer than a few hours, shows you how to use your machine not just a fancy dealer machine, allows you to practice at your own pace and on your own time, and gives you an ongoing way to ask questions and get help when you get stuck.