An automatic quilting machine for use in stitching individual selected patterns into a large fabric such as a bedspread or quilt. The bedspread or quilt is stretched on a large metal frame which is mounted on a table which can be moved in the X-direction, the Y-direction, or any X-Y combination direction through an automatic joystick. The sewing machine head is mounted on a cross beam which is aligned at the approximate center point of the metal frame on which the fabric is stretched. The needle of the sewing machine head can stitch a pattern into any location in the fabric and the metal frame is moved in any direction relative to the fixed sewing machine head in order to bring the desired stitch location on the fabric into alignment with the sewing machine head. The precise location of the sewing machine needle and fabric is illuminated and a color video camera which is mounted on the cross beam holding the sewing machine head is also focused on this location. The color video camera is connected to a television monitor so that a visual image of the sewing machine needle and fabric as a stitch is being made can be delivered to the monitor. A machine operator can control the movement of the metal frame through positioning by a remote joystick and can see the stitch being made by viewing the monitor. The apparatus also includes a reprogrammable function integrated into the system wherein the operator first manually traces the desired pattern using the existing joystick system. At the end of this step, the traced pattern is stored into the memory of a computer as a digitalized image of the pattern. The computer can then cause the pattern to be subsequently repeated at any multiplicity of desired locations.