Thread: Sewing machine overload

No, you do not NEED one of these!
I, for example, have been quilting for 30 years, have taught, designed, published, done commissions, and owned a large quilt shop, yet have never owned such a high end machine. I quilt on an 18 year old mechanical Bernina 1031 and adore it. I also own two vintage Berninas, an 830 and an 807.

"Wanting", now, that's a totally different story.....and completely depends on your ability to pay, your willingness to pay, your motivation for buying, and what you plan to do to make the purchase worthwhile in the future.....besides bragging rights, of course!

Jan in VA

Buy what you like and can afford and don't fret over wondering if you made the right purchase. There will always be newer machines. It usually takes three or four machine purchases over time before you find the one that is the one.

The extra stitches can be nice but you need to decide what you want to do. You mentioned blanket stitch for appliqué. Don't take the dealers word for it ask for or take a background, a sample shape and stabalizer. Try all the levels of machines in each brand that have the features you want most. Try some fmq on them. Who cares what it looks like, just try to get a feel for the machine. You may find the higher end machine does not produce as nice a stitch as a lower model, or maybe you find one or the other easier to use. I did not buy a top of the line Bernina and am very happy with the model I chose. I love it for binding and clothing construction but I like to piece with vintage machines. Just make sure what you chose fits you at this point in time and what you might like to try in the near future. No one can predict what kind of sewing they will want to do 15 or 20 years out.

Other than the larger throat, quilting doesn't need fancy stitches. Straight stitch for piecing. Free motion capability (drop feed dogs) for quilting. You already know you want a few fancy stitches - that's still not a high end machine, and I don't think one is necessary. My old Kenmore, which I bought for about $300 does a blanket stitch.

The throat size - after quilting for 7 years I would definitely pay for a decent throat. I have about 7-8" on my machine, and it is a pain in the neck to do anything much bigger than a baby quilt. I have done it however - all the way up to king size. If you can get a larger throat without breaking your budget, I say go for it. But don't let them push you into fancy embroidery stitches and what-not. And it's possible to do a lot with a smaller throat, with a little bit of creativity and perseverance, if you can't afford the big throat now. After 7 years, I'm splurging on a long-arm machine (which arrives tomorrow)

Originally Posted by kristakz

Other than the larger throat, quilting doesn't need fancy stitches. Straight stitch for piecing. Free motion capability (drop feed dogs) for quilting. You already know you want a few fancy stitches - that's still not a high end machine, and I don't think one is necessary. My old Kenmore, which I bought for about $300 does a blanket stitch.

The throat size - after quilting for 7 years I would definitely pay for a decent throat. I have about 7-8" on my machine, and it is a pain in the neck to do anything much bigger than a baby quilt. I have done it however - all the way up to king size. If you can get a larger throat without breaking your budget, I say go for it. But don't let them push you into fancy embroidery stitches and what-not. And it's possible to do a lot with a smaller throat, with a little bit of creativity and perseverance, if you can't afford the big throat now. After 7 years, I'm splurging on a long-arm machine (which arrives tomorrow)

I love your Avitar. Wonder why? LOL

When I went shopping about this time last year, I went with my list in hand of things I HAD to have on my new machine. I went with the fabric I was working on at the time, so I could test drive it with my fabric, not theirs. The one thing I learned here from all these kind folks was we are all different in the things that are important to us, so chose what is right for you.

I do not have a top of the line machine but I do have a very good one, for me. I found her sitting over on the shelf with the used/trade in machines. There she sat all by herself because she had been a store display machine. There is another name for them, but for the life of me I cannot think of it. She had all the things that came with her new, and even the large add on table. Does she do everything I wanted? Yes, but now I have thought of things I would have added to that list.

I am one of those folks that truly love all those decorative stitches and I use them. So the more stitches the better. lol.

But at the end of the day, no one can decide what is best for you, but you. Don't let the pushy sales folks steer you in the wrong direction. I was so lucky, the lady that helped me, was so nice, and continues to answer my questions, and help me even today. She let me try out every machine I was interested in. She told me the pros and cons, but never tried to convince me one was better than the other.

Good luck in your search. Have fun, and hope you find that perfect machine !!

Originally Posted by kristakz

Other than the larger throat, quilting doesn't need fancy stitches. Straight stitch for piecing. Free motion capability (drop feed dogs) for quilting. You already know you want a few fancy stitches - that's still not a high end machine, and I don't think one is necessary. My old Kenmore, which I bought for about $300 does a blanket stitch.

The throat size - after quilting for 7 years I would definitely pay for a decent throat. I have about 7-8" on my machine, and it is a pain in the neck to do anything much bigger than a baby quilt. I have done it however - all the way up to king size. If you can get a larger throat without breaking your budget, I say go for it. But don't let them push you into fancy embroidery stitches and what-not. And it's possible to do a lot with a smaller throat, with a little bit of creativity and perseverance, if you can't afford the big throat now. After 7 years, I'm splurging on a long-arm machine (which arrives tomorrow)

I like to do most of my work on a vintage Featherweight. I FMQ on it too, and even thought the harp is not huge, I have done king sized quilts on it. Most of my quilts are smaller than that, and a larger harp is the one thing I'd love to have on that machine.

For appliques, I use an old Kenmore that has a blind hem stitch that I can adjust to make a blanket stitch.

A couple of weeks ago I started (and had to finish) a quilt top on a more modern machine. I had it out to make a label for another quilt, and without thinking, started piecing on it. Never again. I had more problems with that than I ever have on my older machines. Vintage is the way to go IMHO.

Do you have a trusted quilter friend who can go shopping with you? I recently did this with a couple of new quilters and it helps a lot in keeping focused on the real shopping and not the hype from the sales person.