Diamond Drift - Extended-Width Digital Quilting Design

Diamond Drift is an extended-width design. The primary file is designed to travel across the whole width of the quilt and then back to form the nested diamond design. Watch the stitch-out video posted at the top of the page to see how the stitch path travles.



If you are new to extended-width pantograph designs, I'd encourage you to visit this blog post, which provides more information about this unique format. These designs are different than traditional edge-to-edge designs and may require different configurations or settings with your software. 

I love how the diamond shapes emerge as negative space in the center of the echoed lines. I really love the tiny secondary diamonds that form as the lines crisscross across the quilt top!

After I design a pantograph and am ready to test it out, I usually look at the stack of quilt tops I have already sewn up to see which would work best with the design. I believe I had eight tops to choose from this time. I picked this quilt because of the large-scale patchwork and the solid fabrics. It seemed like it could use a touch of complexity. I like how the details (like the elements I described above of the negative space and secondary diamonds) show up well against the solid fabrics.

On the other hand, I could also see this pantograph working well on a busier quilt because the repeated lines offer great texture with a basic diamond motif that won't over-complicate things.

The Quilt

This stunningly simple quilt is called Alchemist and is available for free download on the Hey Quilter site. It was designed by Eudaimonia Studio (awesome job, Brooke!). I love a modern take on a log cabin quilt, and the simple piecing had me itching to sew it up. I decided to kick off a recent sewing retreat with this project, and I have no regrets! It was a quick win that helped me feel like I was on a roll from the start.

I don't mind admitting that I totally copied the color scheme offered as an optional palette within the pattern. I was grateful for the suggestions because I didn't have a clear vision for this quilt, and the mockups helped tremendously. There were THIRTEEN color palettes given as inspiration, the cover and twelve additional palettes toward the end of the pattern.

I used Monograms for Makers' Etsy site to choose the Bella Solids that most closely resembled the inspirational mock-up I selected. It's the next best thing to having a color card because Meg has many photos that show the shades in relation to each other. I find this very helpful.

For the backing fabric, I'm continuing to use the wide bolt I bought of this Riley Blake 108" fabric called Silver Dapple Dots. It's SO EASY to use wide backings, and since it's doubtful I'll ever use the whole 108" width, I forsee some easily pieced backings made with the remnants.

The Quilting Particulars

I rated this design "Easy" in terms of difficulty. If you need help setting up this design in your software, it may be due to the fact that it's an extended-width design. Please refer to this blog post for more information. There are tutorials for the various major software programs on the market. As for the design, no backtracking or offsetting is required.

Visual Reference Point for Realignment

When setting up multiple repeats with your software, I added a visual reference at the bottom-left of the design (black arrow in the illustration below) that you can use to align with the top of the next repeat. When aligned correctly, (red circle), the spacing will be consistent. Please note that the space within the diamond repeats is intentionally smaller than the spacing between the larger diamond rows.

Sizing

I used the default size instead of the 6.12" default height. This resulted in the spacing between the echoed lines that make up the diamond motif being about 0.5" apart and the spacing between the rows of diamonds being approximately 0.6" apart. 

Here are the sizing specifications for how I set up this sample quilt size using my Intelliquilter (64" x 64" quilt size):

Block height: 6.12"
Gap: -0.4"*** 
Pattern height: 6.52" (measurement from top to bottom of the repeat)
Offset: none
Backtracking: none

***There is a slight negative gap between repeats. This is illustrated in the image above. 

Here's a look at the included PDF:

Alternating Rows Version Vs. L to R

The "regular" file called Diamond Drift - Extended-Width is programmed to stitch the first line of the repeat from left-to-right and the next row from right-to-left. The third line of the repeat is again L to R and then the fourth row R to L.

We also have a left-to-right only version available called Diamond Drift L to R in the zipped file you'll get with your download. In this version, you'll want to stop to clip your threads after each row and move your machine back to the left to start each subsequent row. You'll want to use this version if your machine has trouble traveling right-to-left with thread breaks or tension issues.

There's a video of the stitch path at the top of the blog post to see how the alternating version works.

Trim/Clip

The default width is 119.5" wide, which means you'll want to trim/clip away the excess design for each row, leaving only what's needed for the quilt you have mounted on your frame.

If you use Diamond Drift - Extended-Width on a quilt, we'd love for you to use the hashtag #diamonddriftpanto and tag @longarmleague on Instagram so we can see how you use it! You can also visit our full digital design shop to look at all our previous designs.

Interested in getting new digital pantograph designs like this one on the day they're released (and at a deep discount)? Sign up for our Digital Panto Club and get them delivered directly to your inbox on the first Wednesday of each new month.