High speed quilting machine

In a quilting machine of the type including a bed plate, material supporting means including material feeding means for conducting material to be quilted over the bed plate, sewing thread supply means, a plurality of vertically reciprocal needles positioned above the bed plate for moving sewing threads through the material and the bed plate, a plurality of horizontally reciprocal shuttles mounted below the bed plate and cooperating with the vertically reciprocal needles for forming lock stitches in the material, vertically reciprocal presser means positioned above the bed plate for holding the material on the bed plate during formation of the stitches, thread take-up means positioned between the thread supply means and the needles for controlling thread tension during the formation of the stitches, and pattern controlling means for moving the material supporting means laterally in a preselected relationship with the material feeding means for obtaining sewing patterns, there is disclosed an improvement wherein the needles are driven continuously between upper and lower positions with no delay or dwell time at the ends of their strokes and with no "hump" or other irregularities in their movement, wherein the timing of the thread take-up means is adjustable independently of the timing of the needles and is delayed with regard thereto, wherein the timing of the presser means is adjustable independently of the timing of the needles and is delayed with regard thereto, and wherein the length of the strokes of the shuttles is approximately 50% greater than the length of the shuttles.