BellaBoo

The Accucut site has videos, pictures and all the information about the dies. You can see what a strip die is there.

katied772

Is it difficult to keep the fabric straight when cutting strips?

purplemem

Katie
You don't even move the fabric.
Watch the video. you lay the fabric onto the die, place the board on top, and roll it through the cutter.

BellaBoo

I've never had the fabric move once it's on the die going through the machine. The fabric stays on the die the way you put it on. Lots of great videos on You Tube showing the different dies being used. The straight of grain of the fabric is important when cutting strips. The other shapes I pile on fabric anyway it will fit to make die cuts. I don't baby the machine I use it to the max.

I guess it's just me but if a product I want to buy is from a reputable company, I know getting too many opinions from good to bad would stress me out about buying. I buy first and form my own opinion.

Chasing Hawk

I just got this less than two weeks ago. I love it, it is really easy for me to use. If you have any drafting table experience then you shouldn't have a problem.

So far I have used it to square up the blocks on my current project.

It is the Alto's Quiltcut 2, I paid $234.00 (that is with shipping). This is the only cutting system I have. I use my rotary cutter with it and off I go.

I don't need all those fancy shapes, squares, rectangles and strips are fancy enough for me. :)

dellareya

I asked this question a while back and had pages and pages of information and advice. All of it was appreciated. I think it really does boil down to personal preference.
Do a search and Good luck in your quest.

chiaraquilts

I have had my accuquilt GO! for about four months and love it- the accuracy is wonderful, and also the speed with which you can cut out a whole quilt! Some people have complained about fabric wastage, but I find with careful placement it is not a problem (not to mention the wastage I was getting with bad rotary cuts!)

The customer service is awesome- one of my dies kind of fell apart while using it for the first time, they sent a brand new one right away, I didn't even have to pay for shipping, and they were very pleasant and helpful. They really seem to stand behind the product.

I had severe carpal tunnel syndrome, and found I could use the machine comfortably even before my surgery!

tinkerfeet

I have the cricut also but I don't like it to cut fabric with it at all. I don't know if its me or what but it makes a mess.So I just use good old scissors.

gale

I have the accuquilt go. It's ok. I don't know if I'd buy it again. I cut a bunch of 6.5" blocks, making sure the grain was correct. Some are about 1/16" off on one side. Probably no worse than if I rotary cut but I want them to be better than rotary cut. I have the 2.5" strip die and it's a tad bit narrow as well (measurements were all with my olfa rulers). I did have to smooth out the fabric doing the strips because it sort of scootched down as it was rolling through but that wasn't a big deal at all. But my biggest issue is that I have a bum elbow and it is really hard for me to crank the Go (this was with 2 layers of regular cotton fabric). I can do it but I pay later with pain in my neck and shoulder (and subsequently, headaches). So I have to pace myself-only a few cuts a day.

I have the small rag die too that I'm planning to use with flannel so I may have dh do all those cuts for me.

BellaBoo

The turning gets easier when the handle loosens up. I think there is an adjustment on the handle where it attaches. One tip, when you use the rag die place a piece of thin paper over the die before the fabric. It will keep the threads out of the die when cutting all those rag ends. Thin paper will not dull the blades for the rag die. I have used mine with paper to cut over 30 rag quilts for guild and the blades are still as sharp as new. Sorry about your 6 1/2" cuts. I heavy starch my fabric for that die size. For some reason it is the only size that will be off a smidgen for me too.