Q'nique Quilting Machine Buying Guide - GraceFrame

Over the past 35 years, here at the Grace Company, we have proven our commitment to innovation, invention, and exceptional customer service. We strive to offer not only the best tools to elevate your quilting abilities but also the support to get the most out of your experience with all Grace Company products. Quilting machines are an investment in your craft, so helping you choose the right Q’nique machinel is our priority. 

With competitive price and timely delivery, Glory Tang Machinery sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.

Keep reading to find the best way to compare Q’nique machine models, where to find support videos, customer service contact information, and some of our most frequently asked questions about the Q’nique machines from shipping to maintenance. 

With many models to choose from, it can be difficult to select the right quilting machine for your needs. We’ve created this Q’nique Machine Comparison Table to lay out exactly what differentiates one model from another. Compare machine characteristics like price, stitch speed (SPM), stitch modes, and stitch regulation to select your perfect machine. You can also consider the availability of features of convenience like machine throat size, screen display type, handle type, thread trimmer, and built-in bobbin winder in making your decision with this table. 

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Q’nique Machines Frequently Asked Questions

We understand that selecting a quilting machine is no small task. This piece of equipment is not only an investment in your craft but also an investment in your time, creativity, and energy. The Q’nique model you receive should fit your every need as a quilting enthusiast. 

If you want to know more about the machines before you choose the right model for your quilting practice, here are some of our most frequently asked questions about the Q’nique quilting machines:

How much maintenance is required for a Q’nique Machine?

• Very little maintenance is required. The little maintenance required for the machines is handled by the customer with the support of the Grace Company’s customer service. 

How often does the Q’nique machine need oil?

• Needle bar: Twice every couple of months

• Bobbins: Every couple of quilts

What is the best way to clean lint buildup?

• Use a lint brush or air can as needed.

Which Q’nique machine is compatible with which frame? 

• All current Grace frames are fully compatible with Q’nique X Series machines with the exception of the Q’nique 21X Elite, which requires either the ContinuumII frame or the NEW Quilter’s Evolution Hoop-Frame or Elite rolling frame.

Which Q’nique models can accommodate a lower budget?

• We have an affordable solution for all budgets. For the lowest prices, shop the Q’nique 15 and Q’nique 16 machines.

How much does a Q’nique machine weigh?

• When shipped, the machine plus packaging can weigh in excess of 60lbs.

How long does shipping take?

• 7-10 business days total

  • 1-3 business days for processing and packing

  • 3-5 business shipping

• We ship with UPS and FEDEX

• Machines come in one box

• Package tracking information is sent the day the machine ships

  • Check your spam, or junk folder if you do not receive tracking information once the machine has shipped. 

What type of thread works best with Q’nique quilting machines?

• We recommend using a polyester thread such as our Finesse Thread. A polyester thread will be strong, durable, lightweight, and low-lint.

Check our website to learn more about our quilting machines and frames!

Q’nique Support

Once you have your perfect quilting machine, our commitment to quality customer service does not end there. The Grace Company offers a myriad of Q’nique support videos to help and instruct you in maintenance for your machine such as:

• Installing encoders

• Moving the screen to the rear handles

• How to reassemble the Q’nique Quilter encoder 

• Reinstalling the bobbin case spring 

• Threading the Q’nique 14

• Oiling the Q’nique 14

  Want more information on Single Needle Quilting Machine? Feel free to contact us.

• Changing the needle on the Q’nique 14

• Setting up the bottom tension

• How to release tight top tension 

• How to tighten the top tension 

• How to prevent eyelashes and looping with the correct tension

• Adjusting your hopping foot

• All about Q’nique stitch modes

• All about Q’nique bobbin winders

• Installing a bobbin

• Install encoders with a single wheel track

• Changing the bobbin on a Q’nique 19

• Threading a Q’nique 19

• Changing a needle on the Q’nique 19 

• Timing the Q’nique 19

• Timing the Q’nique 15 or 21 

Q’nique Support Contact Information

Technical Support (troubleshooting your product, or problems with assembly/functions)
[ protected] 

General Customer Service (part replacements, general questions)
[ protected] 

Choosing a Q’nique quilting machine will ensure that you can quilt without worry for years to come. We take pride in the quality of our products and the customer service we provide to those who purchase our products. We’ve included our customer service and technical support contact information to answer any questions or concerns you may have. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Happy Quilting, 

My favorite batting for many years was Fairfield Cotton Classic, which was 80% cotton and 20% polyester. With the many recent changes in batting, I have switched to Fairfield Nature-Fil, which is 50% cotton and 50% bamboo. It's the one that has a picture of my quilt "In the Marsh #" on the bag.

I don't ever use polyester batting. I find cotton and cotton-blend a much better choice for a number of technical and aesthetic reasons. 1. it never beards, 2. it can be blocked flat with a steam iron after quilting, 3. it doesn't shift and make puckers while you are machine quilting. 4. it just feels better. I know that there are a number of cotton and cotton-blend battings on the market, and I'm sure some of them are very good. I just haven't tried all of them.

For my three dimensional High Tech Tucks quilts, and for a few of my heavily machine embroidered fabric collages, I have used 100% wool army.  These are available at army/navy surplus stores.  They are very heavy and dense, and so quilts that are dimensional or distorted by heavy stitching can be blocked absolutely flat, and the weight of the wool will help them remain flat.

Until , I did all my quilting on a regular size Bernina sewing machine. I find that I have better control and my body is better balanced if I move the foot control to my left foot. An added bonus is that I can operate the knee lift with my right knee, and never accidentally hit the foot control at the same time (thus making hairballs in the bobbin case).

For large quilts I pushed together several tables, desks, etc. so that the entire weight of the quilt is supported on the table top.

click for closeup of hand position

It is much easier to move the quilt under the arm of the sewing machine if it is not dragging over the edge of a table. As you can see in the picture, I even set up a little table next to my chair to support some of the quilt that would otherwise be hanging over the front of the sewing table or in my lap. 

Sometimes I spray a little silicone on the table top to make it more slippery. (If you try this be careful not to overspray onto the floor, or you'll have a skating rink)

To get the quilt under the arm of the sewing machine, I roll, pleat stuff and drag........whatever is necessary to get to the place where I'm going to quilt. When I reach a place where I can't move the quilt freely any more, I put the needle down to hold the quilt in place and re-arrange the quilt. Before I begin stitching I make sure that the quilt can be moved freely and is not pulling against the needle. When I'm working on a large quilt, I don't focus on the vast sea of fabric in front of me that still has to be quilted. I just focus on the six inches of fabric between my hands, and I try to make that six inches a beautiful as possible. I try to keep my left elbow down on the table. It relaxes my shoulders, and also helps me move the big quilt.

Most of my quilting is free-motion. That means I move the quilt under the needle with my hands, and the stitch length is determined by the speed I run the foot control and the speed at which I move my hands. Getting an even stitch is a matter of practice. Any machine can be trained to do what mine does. It just takes several hundred hours to train one.

If you have tried free-motion quilting, you know that after about five minutes all the tread is gone from your hands and fingers, and it is harder to move the quilt. I wear some kind of gloves to give me more traction, so I don't have to press down so hard. My favorites are Machingers from Handiquilter.com. They come in sizes to fit your hands, they are easy to put on and take off, and they have ruberized finger tips to give you more traction.

In I bought a Legacy, a customized industrial machine that has 21" under the head. I love the extra scooching room, especially when I'm working on a large quilt. On this machine I can do both regular sewing (with feed-dogs) and free-motion quilting. It is very heavy (head weighs 200 pounds) and if service is necessary, you need to find a technician who makes house calls. I have tried both the Handiquilter machine and the George from APQS. Both are extended-head, sit-down machines that are designed exclusively for free-motion quilting. I would recommend that you try both of them at one of the big quilt shows, and choose the one that best fits your needs.

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Click for the whole story & more pictures of this quilt
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Most of the quilting I have done has been free-motion,machine quilting. That is, I lower the feed dogs on my sewing machine, use a darning foot or other free motion foot, and manually move the quilt under the needle. With this kind of quilting, the stitch length is controled by the speed of your needle, and the speed of your hands as you move the quilt. After hundreds of hours of machine quilting, I am comfortable using my machine as a drawing tool. Generally, I try to approach my machine quilting intuitively. I think of it as "doodling with thread". This kind of quilting is as unique to the individual quilter as handwriting or a signature. Since , when I began making whole cloth quilts from my painted fabrics, I have wanted the quilting to be more than just a decorative way to hold the layers of the quilt together. I want it to be an important part of the overall design. In most of my quilts I have used #40 polyester top-stitching thread. If I want the thread to show up more, I sometimes use #30 top-stitching thread and make sure that the thread color contrasts with the background fabric in both color and value. If I want the thread to show less, I may use a bobbin-weight thread like Superior Bottom Line and match the thread to the color of the background fabric.

Nectar Collector is a good of example of a quilt in which the quilting becomes the whole design. Most of the imagery in this quilt came directly out of my imagination. When I was a child I used to lie in the back yard in the summer and watch the clouds. After a while, I could begin to see animals, or faces, or other pictures in the clouds. The quilted images developed in much the same way. I sat and looked at the painted fabric, until a picture developed in my mind. Then I quilted the picture. Most of the imagery is of various flowers, leaves, and weeds. These images represent my feelings when I experience flowers and weeds, and not any specific botanical species. When the quilting was about three quarters finished, a friend saw the quilt in my studio and said, "you ought to hide a bird in it somewhere." At first I rejected this idea. The next morning, however,the large red-orange weed in the center began to look very much like the sort of plant a hummingbird would like, so I quilted in a hummingbird, collecting nectar from this plant. Thus the title "Nectar Collector." The humming bird needed to to have anatomically correct proportions, so I drew the humming bird with a white pencil and followed the pencil lines. Click here for detail. The rest of the quilt was stitched free-hand.

As you mentioned, many quilts have included a variation on the traditional "Feathered Plume" quilting motif. These plumes tend to become major compositional elements in the overall design. Where they start, where they stop, and what path they follow along the way, is important to the balance of the whole composition. The path of a feathered plume is determined by the path of the center stem, so all I mark is a single pencil line, indicating the center stem. The "feathers" themselves are stitched freehand. As long as the base of each feather ends up along the center line, I know I'm on the right path.

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I don't often plan the quilting while I'm making the quilt top. I generally just make the quilt sandwich and make up the quilting patterns as I go.

When I do mark, I generally uses either a white charcoal pencil (available in art supply stores like Michael's) or a Sanford verithin. These pencils will chalk off easily, so they don't leave pemenant marks on your fabric. Be sure to remove all the pencil before blocking your quilt with a steam iron, as the steam can set the charcoal marks. I find that a clean piece of cloth rubbed over the marks works as well an anything to remove them.

To see details of the quilting in each of my quilts, go to our gallery and follow the links to hundreds of complete quilt records. Each of my quilt records includes further links to large, close-up images of the quilting.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Automatic Computer Quilt Machine.