Through the Years @ Gammill
This year Gammill introduced their first long-arm quilting machine.
What is 1980?
This innovative system uses the Hex Tool to let quilters quickly swap needles and presser feet, enhancing precision and speeding up the quilting process on Gammill machines.
What is the The Approach Foot System?
Abraham Lincoln did his reading by firelight in one of these humble homes—now also a classic block in the quilting world; complete with a red center.
What is a log cabin?
The function that says, “Yes, Karen, I did make this, and no, you can’t claim it at show-and-tell
What is Draw Text?
This must-have accessory makes ruler work safe, stable and precise.
What is the Ruler Base Plate?
This needle size is the perfect go-to for most standard quilting threads and a must-have in your Gammill longarm toolkit.
What is a 4.0? (110/18/4.0)
Because nothing says “learning experience” like finding out your purple pen is permanent… this is the universal rule of quilt marking.
What is test test test.
In 2021 Gammill consolidated all of its operations to one 53,000 Square foot manufacturing facility in this midwestern town.
What is West Plains, Missouri, USA?
This presser foot really “stirs” things up by helping your machine glide over uneven seams—making edge to edge quilting a real “treat”
What is the spoon foot?
This block is made from half-square triangles and is named for a breezy children's toy.
What is the Pinwheel?
The feature that saves you from explaining to your guild why your pearls turned into Krispy Kremes on one side and footballs the other.
What is Border Corner?
Before quilting begins, this spinning sidekick quickly and quietly fills with precision—ensuring smooth, even tension every time.
What is the Gammill Professional Bobbin Winder?
Our technicians recommend using the point of an old needle to clear this fibrous buildup from the needle holder when changing your needle.
What is lint?
The rulers give you the control, and these give you the lines and the magic center dot.
What are stencils?
Developed in 1989, this was the first computer driven long arm quilting machine.
What is the Statler Stitcher?
Just like your favorite summer shoes, this foot keeps things open so you can see your quilting clearly.
What is the Open Toe Foot?
This quilt block is named after a shelled gastropod and creates the illusion of curves using only squares and triangles.
What is the Snail's Trail?
You draw the line, and this feature plays quilt fairy — sprinkling perfectly sized designs all the way across, without turning them into hot dogs or pancakes.
What is apply?
Skip the pins and the basting—these helpers hold your sandwich tight so you can sew just right.
What are Gammill Quilt Clips?
Not just for keeping your neck warm, this cutout on the back of the needle allows the hook to grab the thread and make the stitch.
What is the scarf?
Gammill’s free online series where expert educators demonstrate hand-guided quilting techniques and spark fresh inspiration for your next project
The Latest Thread
In 2021, Gammill introduced this online service where you can buy, test, sell and save longarm quilting designs.
What is Pattern Cloud?
This foot helps you “stuff” your quilting with extra flair, letting your designs really puff up and stand out. It's also great for stitching close to buttons and embellishments.
What is the trapunto foot?
A gaggle of Branta canadensis—migrate south in this energy-saving formation, which also inspired a classic quilt block.
What is Flying Geese?
This feature has its own hit single: 🎵 “1-2-3, 2-3, 2-3, 2-3” — making arcs the whole crowd can dance to.
What is Draw Arc?
A cut above the rest—this accessory transforms the back of your machine into a workspace ready for trimming quilts and cutting long borders.
What is the Gammill Cutting Mat?
Regular Round Point is designated by this letter on the needle pack.
These can be heirloom, bump-back, traditional, longarm or even chaotic.
What are feathers?
Gammill recommends that you have your longarm machine serviced every 500 quilts or this many years, whichever comes first.
What is 5 years?
Don't lose this! Use it to change all of your feet AND your needle, too!
What is the Hex Key?
A cousin to the Log Cabin, this complex block stacks strips around a center square in a spiky spiral—sweet in name, sharp in structure.
What is the Pineapple Block?
Without this feature, your machine would quilt in the same order your mother-in-law loads the dishwasher: pure chaos.
What is Set Sew Order?
These let you get up close and personal with your quilting—providing exceptional comfort and control to stitch intricate details with ease.
The larger the needle, the larger the groove. When in doubt, remember that you are trying to match the size of the groove in the needle with the size of this.
What is thread?
We adjust this when we can't get our hand between the machine and the quilt sandwich.
What is the pickup roller?