Pantographs

I realized when I looked back at my posts on The Machine that I had glossed over some of the details of how it works. Don’t worry, I’m not going to bore you with obscure technological details. I just want to tell you about its pantograph system.

You may be familiar with a traditional pantograph, a very old device for copying and, optionally, changing the scale of a two-dimensional drawing.



When you trace the drawing with the pointer, the pencil mirrors your movements and creates another image of the drawing. By adjusting the relation between the pointer and the pencil, you can change how large the copy will be. (Click for more on pantographs. This site is where the drawing above originates.)

On The Machine, the pantograph works on the same principle, only here, you trace the drawing with a laser pointer, and the sewing machine copies your movements in thread!

How on earth does that work? You move the laser pointer using heavy steering handles that are attached to a rolling shelf on which the sewing machine sits; thus, when you steer the laser pointer over the drawing, you are also steering the sewing machine over the quilt.



As long as your sewing machine is turned on and threaded, every movement you make, for better or for worse, will appear on your quilt.