Does such a thing exist? I have a machine I love, but would be able to quilt my own quilts more easily if I had a large throat space to handle larger quilts. What is available? Ideas?

Thanks!

What's cheap to you?

Craigslist Juki straight stitch. $300-600 range or vintage Singer 201 $45-$250 range.

I agree with Annaquilts.

If you can find a used Juki they are wonderful. I love mine. Even new they are much cheaper than most of them.

Cheap really just means as cheap as possible. I'm not sure what my limit is. I'd like to see what's available before deciding, but the cheaper the better. I don't want anything fancy; just a large throat and a good straight stitch.

How large of a throat? That will be the only way to compare apples to apples. If you're talking 9"--then the Juki 98 would be the cheapest new. There are several others that you might be able to find used in the 9" category--Janome 1600, Pfaff Grand Hobby Quilter 1200, Viking/Husqvarna Mega Quilter, Brother PQ1500 are all similar to the Juki 98. To get bigger than 9", you'll probably have to add another $500+ to your budget. The basic Bailey Home Quilter is 13" and I think it was around $1,200. They also make a 15" & now a 17" version. They were the cheapest that I remember when I was searching. You might find an older DAQ, KenQuilt, Gammil, etc if you look hard enough but those are industrial, quilting only machines. The ones I mentioned prior are more like domestic sewing machines.

Juki 98 or new 2010Q, brother 1500 Nouvelle. I want a machine like this with a large throat, dual feed (IDT), and straight stitch only, and of course feed dog drop for FMQ. I haven't actually FMQ yet, but God willing, I'm gonna. I have a Babylock Quest Plus, which does all that, but I love the perfect stitch you can only get from straight stitchers. Plus, I've got SMAD ( sewing machine addiction disorder). It's real.

Awesome info. Thanks! That gives me an idea of what's available. I'm new enough to quilting that I'm a bit overwhelmed with sewing machine info. Those qualify as "cheap," as far as I'm concerned, since I'm most familiar with the prices of Berninas.

Thanks to all who replied!

In order to get the dual feed--you'll want to look at the Brother 1500 or Pfaff Grand Hobby Quilter. The Juki 98 doesn't have it--not sure if the new one does.

I forgot to mention the new Janome Horizon (aka 7700) in my previous post. It has an 11" throat, I believe, and was selling for just under $2,000 when I saw it in April. It does a lot more than just straight stitch, though.

I also seem to recall that the Viking/Husky Sapphire has a longer throat and Bernina also released a big one within the last year or so.

I have an Elna 7200, very similar to a Janome MC6500, which is just shy of a 9" throat plus it has a bunch of fancy stitches. I used it on the frame with no problem for the last 5 years until I found a bargain mid-arm.