Grace Evolution Elite Frame - Maximize Your Quilting Space

The Grace Evolution Elite Frame is the most solidly built, intuitively designed rolling rail frame Grace Company has ever offered. Quilt your biggest quilts faster, with the most creative quilting designs by taking your quilting space to the max! Designed for Professional Longarmers, Priced for Hobby Quilters The Evolution Elite Frame is built to professional standards with thick steel construction and reinforced rails. The new star shaped front rail and special Evolution quilt clips deliver the perfect amount of tension to your quilt layers. This is also Grace Company's most customizable frame. Set up your Evolution Elite Frame at 8, 10, or 12 feet to best fit your quilting space. See how much space this will take up and the recommended minimum room size in this chart: The depth of the frame can also expand if you decide to change longarm machines in the future - start with your home sewing machine or a Qnique 16X longarm and expand to a Qnique 21X Elite anytime! Leah's Advice on Picking Your Frame It can be really tough to know which sized frame to buy, especially when you're first getting started with longarm quilting. My best advice is to go with the maximum size your quilting space allows. When I set up my first frame, I couldn't imagine ever needing a frame longer than 8 feet. Within 2 years I'd expanded my frame twice to reach 12 feet! Because the price of the Evolution Elite Frame is the same for all lengths, if you have space for a 10 foot frame, you may want to select the 12 foot and store the 2 foot extension in a closet until you're ready to expand.  What machines are compatible? The Evolution Elite Frame can fit any home machine, Qnique Longarm, and you can use off-brand longarms like the Babylock Tiara too. For the most quilting happiness, it is recommended that your home sewing machine has at least a 9 inch harp space. This will give you enough space to quilt creative designs on this frame. * You can use non-Qnique sit-down style longarms like the Babylock Tiara or HandiQuilter Sweet 16 with this frame. Unfortunately these machines are not compatible with our stitch regulators so you must use the machine's foot pedal to control the speed. Additional Elite Frame Accessories Learn more about the different accessories you can add to your Evolution Elite Frame. Add these accessories above to create your dream frame! Additional Rails and Extensions - You can expand your frame anytime as your quilting space changes. The maximum length of a Evolution Elite Frame is 12 feet. Idler Rail - Reduce the time you spend fiddling with the frame between advances! This adds an additional back rail to your frame and allows the bulk of the quilt to build up in the arm of the machine, rather than against your machine bed. This rail will reduce your vertical quilting space by 1-2 inches, but the time saved with each advance is worth it! Batting Rail - Store extra batting or backing fabric on this handy rail mounted to the front of your frame.  Note - The Idler and Batting rails are interchangeable on the Evolution Elite Frame. Let Your Frame Evolve with Your Quilting Skills If the size or cost of the Evolution Elite Frame is beyond you at this time, consider beginning at the beginning with the Evolution Hoop Hybrid Frame. This 5-foot frame has a much smaller footprint and is more affordable to beginning quilters. But unlike the Q-Zone Hoop Frame, the Evolution Hoop can be upgraded and expanded to become an Evolution Elite. Click Here to learn more. Why Does the Length of this Quilting Frame Matter? I received this great question about the difference between 8 and 10 foot rolling rail frames recently: I'm interested to know what size of quilt I can do on a 8' frame vs. a 10' frame for a longarm machine. Thank you for your help, K This is a great question! On an 8 foot rolling rail frame, you will be able to load and quilt a quilt top 78 inches wide or smaller. Rolling rail frames like the Evolution Elite must be set up bigger than the quilt, and it is this size that limits the quilt size. If you set up a 10 foot frame, your quilt top limit will be 103 inches wide. I can personally verify these numbers as I've set up a frame at 8, 10, and 12 feet and when I say this is the limit - it's the limit!  The machine or carriage will bump into the sides of the frame and the needle simply will not be able to reach further than these amounts.  So if you mostly piece queen sized quilts, I'd recommend the 10 foot frame. If you mostly piece baby quilts and throws, an 8 foot frame will likely be all that you need. Do you have more questions about the Evolution Elite Quilting Frame? Contact Us for help getting the right frame for your budget, space, and style of quilting!