redhead184

Just some food for thought:

I have free-motioned two on my home sewing machine, and done two on a local shop's longarm (rented the machine, did it myself). Shop rental rates around here are $26.50 an hour, and most shops do not rent. The going rate to have a shop do the quilting is about $ .02 to $.03 per square inch (I think). I have struggled with my machine because it's a sewing/embroidery machine, and it's not ideally set up for quilting. I have made modifications as much as I can, but there are limits, for example, a single-needle plate would make the entire process MUCH easier, but it was never made for my machine. The machine I have retailed for about $1,000 when I bought it in 2005. Had I known then that I would use it primarily for quilting, I would've invested the money in a machine more designed for that.

I am considering purchasing a machine just for quilting, so I would advise you to carefully consider what you want to do. If you have the right machine, doing your own quilting can be easy and fun. If you don't, it can be a pain in the butt.

I love to free-motion, when it works. That's quilting the sandwich. On my current machine, it has been a challenge, and not just because of the space factor.

The kind of machine I am considering purchasing now is designed specifically for quilting:

- straight stitch only
- high speed (up to 1,500 stitches per minute)
- maximum control (i.e. several different settings) for controlling thread and presser foot tension, and lowering the feed dogs in gradations (i.e. more than one setting to lower them to)
- thread feed that minimizes curling/spiraling (and hence, breaking)
- has a deeper throat (the distance between the needle and the right pedestal of the machine) that makes managing the quilt so much easier

If you're just getting started, and you think you're going to want a sewing machine that does more than quilting, you may want to buy just a simple, more economical sewing machine, until you've played around a bit with making the quilt tops, and perhaps having someone else do your quilting on your initial quilts, and consider investing in a specialty machine later on, if you want to do more of your own machine quilting at home.

Hope this helps. It can be a complicated decision, but you have to make the right one for you.

corklass44

I have done a super-king on my little domestic Singer. I do not split the batting. I sometimes will hand quilt the center section and then machine quilt the rest. It's a struggle but the gloves really help. It can be done! I couldn't afford to send my quilts to a LA.

inspectorcmm

I bought a husqvarna designer 11, and made a king size one with it. The sapphire 875 replaced it and they are a little pricey but have 10 inches of room to quilt with. It a step down from an embroider machine and is made strictly for quilting. I would start small and work you way up if you not experienced. Scrunch and don't roll if you do one. The quilting with the machine wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

sewbizgirl

I have always quilted on regular sewing machines. I used my old Bernina Record 830 until the tension got messed up on it. I recently bought a Juki 2010Q because it's all mechanical (no computer) and STRONG, and intended for machine quilting. It only straight stitches but is a wonderful quilter. HUGE throat space, too. I sew other things on it, as needed, but because I primarily quilt these days, this was the best machine for me. It sells for about $850. There is a Brother machine that is very similar to my Juki that sells for about $650. Don't remember the model number. If you are interested in machine quilting, be sure you buy a machine that does it well. It gets really expensive to send quilts out to a longarmer.

Milli

I quilt on my DSM, up size double, I meander and stquilt
I have a pfaff expression 2480 but it quits working after or during quilting a quilt it's hateful!!!

​my dsm is a kenmore.

minstrel

I quilt on my regular Janome machine. I regularly do twin-sized quilts (that's the size I make my "lap" quilts, LOL), and have done a queen sized one as well. That's as large as I need in my house.

mary quite contrary

Please just throw me a figure? How much does the Baby Lock Endurance cost? I love my Bernina for quilting but
embroidery is really looking fun.

sarahconner

I have 2 Vikings and I have quilted on both with a walking foot. I have tackled queen size, but it takes patience. I have had a few done by longarmers, but most of them I do myself. I'm at times very frugal. Good luck

tenngal

Forgive me for being a dummy, but tell me about the "domestic " machine.

Jim's Gem

A "Domestic" machine is a regular size sewing machine. Not a small, portable size, and not the little bit bigger ones. Just your regular size that the majority of sewing machines are