{"product_id":"baby-lock-altair-sewing-and-embroidery-machine","title":"Baby Lock Altair — Floor Model","description":"\u003cp\u003eA 9.5\" x 14\" embroidery field, a 10.1\" HD touchscreen and IQ Designer built in — the original Baby Lock Altair at a discontinued price.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Baby Lock Altair (model BLTA) is a flagship combination sewing and embroidery machine that Baby Lock sold from 2021 to 2023 before replacing it with the Altair 2. It pairs a 9.5\" x 14\" embroidery field with 494 built-in embroidery designs and 771 built-in sewing stitches, and gives you an 11.25\" workspace to the right of the needle — enough room to handle a full-size quilt without wrestling it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Altair's defining feature is its interface. A 10.1\" WXGA IPS color LCD touchscreen displays 16,777,216 colors and magnifies your work up to 800%, so you can inspect and adjust a design at the stitch level. It also plays MPEG-4 tutorial videos on a 6.2\" display with 1GB of dedicated video memory, which means the machine can teach you its own features while you sit at it. Behind the screen sit IQ Designer for on-screen digitizing, the IQ Intuition Positioning app for wirelessly placing designs using a photo of your hooped fabric, and Needle Beam, which projects an LED pointer onto the fabric to show exactly where the needle will drop.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e👑 10 Features of the Baby Lock Altair:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e• 9.5\" x 14\" (240mm x 360mm) embroidery field\u003cbr\u003e\n• 494 built-in embroidery designs, including 200 Baby Lock exclusives\u003cbr\u003e\n• 771 built-in sewing stitches\u003cbr\u003e\n• 11.25\" workspace to the right of the needle\u003cbr\u003e\n• Sewing and embroidery speeds up to 1,050 stitches per minute\u003cbr\u003e\n• 10.1\" WXGA IPS color LCD touchscreen with 800% magnification and MPEG-4 video playback\u003cbr\u003e\n• IQ Designer on-screen digitizing and IQ Intuition Positioning app with wireless image transfer\u003cbr\u003e\n• Needle Beam LED pointer on the included embroidery foot\u003cbr\u003e\n• NeverMiss automatic advanced needle threading system and Digital Dual-Feed System\u003cbr\u003e\n• Four hoops included: 9.5\" x 14\", 9.5\" x 9.5\", 5\" x 7\" and 4\" x 4\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e✨ 10 Benefits of Owning the Baby Lock Altair:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e• The 9.5\" x 14\" field stitches oversized designs and long borders with far less re-hooping\u003cbr\u003e\n• An 11.25\" harp makes free-motion quilting a bed-size quilt genuinely manageable\u003cbr\u003e\n• IQ Designer turns your own drawings and art files into stitchable embroidery without separate software\u003cbr\u003e\n• The Positioning app removes the guesswork from placing a design on a pocket, collar or block\u003cbr\u003e\n• Needle Beam shows the needle-drop point before you commit a single stitch\u003cbr\u003e\n• 1,050 spm in both sewing and embroidery means large projects finish in an evening, not a weekend\u003cbr\u003e\n• The Digital Dual-Feed System keeps slippery and multi-layered fabrics feeding evenly\u003cbr\u003e\n• Enhanced Stadium Lighting with true-color LEDs lets you judge thread colors accurately at night\u003cbr\u003e\n• Four included hoops cover nearly every project size without an accessory purchase\u003cbr\u003e\n• On-board video tutorials mean the learning curve is handled at the machine, not in a manual\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe IQ Intuition Positioning app is the feature owners talk about most. You hoop your fabric, photograph it with a smart device through the app, and the image transfers wirelessly to the Altair, where it appears on the 10.1\" screen in lifelike color. You then drag your embroidery design onto the actual photograph of your actual fabric and place it precisely — no positioning stickers, no measuring, no test stitch-out. Combined with the on-screen hoop sensor, which recommends the correct hoop for the design you have chosen, it removes most of the setup anxiety from embroidery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePerfect for the quilter who wants one machine for piecing, free-motion quilting and embroidery, the garment sewist doing precise placement work on finished pieces, the embroiderer who wants to digitize original artwork without buying software, and anyone stepping up from a mid-range combination machine to a flagship. If you have been considering the Altair 2 and would rather put the difference toward thread, fabric and classes, the original Altair delivers the same core architecture at a fraction of the price.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e❓ Frequently Asked Questions:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eQ: How is the original Altair different from the Altair 2?\u003cbr\u003e\nA: The Altair 2 is the current model and the successor to this machine. Both share the 9.5\" x 14\" embroidery field, the 11.25\" workspace and the 10.1\" touchscreen. The Altair 2 adds an updated capacitive glass touchscreen, the second-generation IQ Intuition Positioning 2 mobile scanning system and a revised built-in design and stitch library. The original Altair, shown here, uses the first-generation IQ Intuition Positioning app and its own 494-design, 771-stitch library.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\nQ: Is this a sewing machine, an embroidery machine, or both?\u003cbr\u003e\nA: Both. It is a full-featured combination machine — 771 sewing stitches for garment sewing and quilting, plus a removable embroidery unit with a 9.5\" x 14\" field.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\nQ: Which hoops are included?\u003cbr\u003e\nA: Four, with grids: 9.5\" x 14\", 9.5\" x 9.5\", 5\" x 7\" and 4\" x 4\".\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\nQ: What else comes with it?\u003cbr\u003e\nA: A hands-free knee lift, touch pen stylus, easy-lock accessory case with interchangeable trays, soft canvas machine cover with three storage pockets, two-thread spool stand for cones, straight stitch needle plate, alternate bobbin case for pre-wound bobbins, bobbin center pin, ten bobbins, bobbin covers, four sheets of 64 embroidery positioning stickers, a lens calibration sheet for the positioning app, a presser foot adaptor and a seam ripper.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\nQ: Can I load my own embroidery designs?\u003cbr\u003e\nA: Yes. The Altair has two USB 2.0 Type A ports that accept flash drives, a mouse, a hub or a CD-ROM drive, and it supports wireless design transmission from Baby Lock Palette version 11 or higher, sold separately.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\nQ: Do I need separate digitizing software?\u003cbr\u003e\nA: Not to get started. IQ Designer lets you draw directly on the screen or upload an art file via USB, and the machine digitizes it with the colors and fill stitches you select. Palette remains available if you want full desktop digitizing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\nQ: How is the lighting?\u003cbr\u003e\nA: Enhanced Stadium Lighting surrounds the needle and work area with true-color LEDs that are 50% brighter than the previous generation, with five brightness settings.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\nQ: The Altair is discontinued — can it still be serviced?\u003cbr\u003e\nA: Yes. Our service department in Redwood City services Baby Lock machines regardless of model year, and hoops, feet, bobbin cases and accessories for the Altair remain available.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAvailable at Ralph's Vacuum \u0026amp; Sewing Center in Redwood City, CA. Visit us at 1823 El Camino Real to sit down at the Altair, run the touchscreen and stitch out a design before you decide. We have served sewists and quilters in Redwood City, San Mateo County, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Atherton, Woodside, and throughout the San Francisco Bay Area for decades, and we service what we sell.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePricing Information: The Baby Lock Altair carried a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $10,999.00. As a discontinued model it is offered here at $5,999.00. Availability is limited to remaining stock, and pricing is subject to change.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCall Ralph's Vacuum \u0026amp; Sewing Center or stop by 1823 El Camino Real in Redwood City to check current availability on the Baby Lock Altair. This is flagship capability at close to half its original price, and once remaining stock is gone we cannot reorder it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Tacony","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46043109654719,"sku":"BLTA","price":5999.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0709\/4383\/4303\/files\/BLTA_XL_1684354507_1200x1200_b9668ad8-64d3-4b53-b3f3-492a697771c8.jpg?v=1787086411","url":"https:\/\/ralphsvacnsew.com\/products\/baby-lock-altair-sewing-and-embroidery-machine","provider":"Ralph's Vacuum \u0026 Sewing Center","version":"1.0","type":"link"}