ACCUQUILT GO or NO?
 

I've started looking at the Accuquilt Go to help with my fabric cutting - it looks like at would sure help cut faster, but is it really worth the money? What to you folks think that have them, or that have just been looking too? Thank you!

HI! I have an AccuQuilt Go, and I love it! Talk about precision cutting of shapes and strips!! Yes, it's an investment, but I love mine. I get wobbly when cutting strips, and this takes the "wobble" out of them! Perfect every time! I have cut flannel using the rag die, tshirt material using one of the flower dies, and of course I have cut many shapes and strips of cotton fabrics. I wish I had the extra cash to buy some more dies!

Its a good system but the dies and investment are very pricey and then you are limited to the size die you purchase. I have the small sizzix don't use it much as the dies cost. I just purchased a scanncut and am hoping it is more versatile as I think it will be

I have the Go and love it. My basic dies are years old and still cut like new.

I love my GO. I wish I would have had it a long time ago. The cut precision is fantastic. The last quilt I use it for needed 1 1/2" strips 6 1/2" long. Used the strip 1 1/2" then put the strips in the 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangle and cut to length. Unbelievable reduction in cutting time.

There are definitely plusses and minuses. My friend's friend has one and the biggest criticism she had was the amount of fabric wasted. I've had no personal experience with the product, so her input is all I can offer.

I love mine. Look over the dies and see if they are of interest to your style of quilting. For me it is great that I can cut an entire quilt work of binding in one swift run through the GO. At Christmas I wanted to make a patchwork quilt of various Christmas fabric, using the double 5 inch die, they cut so quick and so easily. Mine came from the Road to California show a few years ago. They were having a special price on the machine and the dies and I was able to try it myself, when I got home and registered it on-line, they started sending me notices of sales and other things. So when there is a sale I can't resist I buy the new die. You don't have to buy them all at once.

I am able to use it without any more waste than with my rotary cutters or scissors. If you talk with them they can even show you secondary patterns from the dies.

I don't understand the fabric waste thing. I have no more then 1/4" around the die shape. Those that say that must be covering the whole die! I don't even use all the mat if I'm just cutting on one part of the die. I use the Go how I want to use it, I'm not afraid of it. I have cut everything that is possible to be cut with it, even foil and cellophane squares to wrap cookies and brownies for a bake sale. Felt shapes for the felt board at the library story hour. The large circle die cuts perfect fitting parchment to line my cake pans, the small circle die cuts the paper for muffin pans.

I LOVE my Go ! I have alot of the square and triangle dies that I picked up over time when they were on sale. My son has gotten into quilting, and I love that I can let him cut his pieces with the GO instead of the rotary cutter.

I love mine!! No dog ears to trim, quick accurate cuts, very little waste (do learn to precut fabric to minimize waste) I purchased mine 3 years ago and have collected 35+ dies for it. I am now using it more and more and it does make the tedious act of cutting more enjoyable and certainly a lot faster!!!! Less time cutting more time creating!!

I have a GO, and I use it for shapes...(strips and square - those things I can cut myself) but it is awesome for shapes.

I have the studio die cutter and love it, you can cut really big cuts and all the strips and they ahve so many dies now and you can have them make any you want.. I had the double wedding ring die made.. you spend money but it lasts forever and they never need replacing. I have had mine for over 6 years now and still have dies that have never been used.. LOL but will get around to all of them one day.. the Go uses a plastic over the dies and they wear out very quickly.. never with the studio

If you're only wanting it for cutting strips, either invest in creative grids rulers that don't slip or buy a June Tailor Shape Cut Plus ruler. Seriously not worth the $$$ just for strips!
If you might like to do applique its a better buy, but you are limited to their designs.
If you like applique and would like to resize or do your own design, the Scan n Cut is phenomenally good.

I have one and I seldom use it. It works. I have all the strip dies but I rarely use them because I make scrap quilts and I only need one strip of each fabric. I totaled up my investment I have over $900. Sometimes I bought a die thinking I would make the quilt and then I never got around to it. I rarely make the same quilt more than once.

I know people like it and there is a yahoo group which is very helpful. You can cut with little waste. But for me I am disgusted that I spent the money.

Why not cut a lot of strips and and just use one in each quilt? Seems perfect sense to have lots of strips pre cut so you can pick one from each fabric when you need it as you already have the die and machine.

I don't even know how long I've had mine (6 years, maybe? more?)... and I love it!!! I use it for the strips, and applique shapes both - and I ESPECIALLY like it for the HST's, as the dog ears are already cut off and help with the alignment. If I'm doing HST's, I go ahead and put my fabrics right-sides-together and cut them at the same time, that's another step taken care of. The only thing that I am a little dissatisfied with is the plastic-type sheet that you put over the top when cutting - they do seem to wear out rather more quickly than I would like. Two of my favorite dies are the Dresden Plate and the Double Wedding Ring. Both of these were impossible for me before I got the dies - now they're both a dream!!

I love mine. the accuracy of the strips and squares is great, much better than i can do. i have the 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 strips, the one that comes with it, a circle and the snowflake. I use the strips most of all. you can turn the strips sideways and make squares. i use the 1 1/2 alot to cut fleece for purse straps. works great.

Makes sense. I am trying to cut my scraps into useable pieces like Bonnie Hunter suggests. And I know I can cut the scraps on the GO but I don't bother getting it set up. If I have a 6 x 9 chunk of fabric I will cut it into sizes I need quickly with a ruler. With the GO I would have to swap out dies or cut it all the same unless I was using the "value" die which I have never bothered with.

I already have lots of the strips I use 2.5 and 1.5. Like I wrote before I know some are very happy with it but for me it is just a money drain. I could have put $900 toward a new sewing machine.

I have the "GO" and I love it. It's so nice to be able to cut out a queen or king size quilt in just a few hours and the precision cuts allow the pieces to fit together oh so perfectly. For me, the "GO" is a big plus because I have "art" in my hands and there were days I was not able to use my rotary cutter.

My husband loves the "GO" also because he no longer has to try to figure out what to buy me for my birthday, our anniversary or Christmas. And, I no longer need to return something because it doesn't fit! LOL

I loved my Go so much, I bought the studio too. Great customer service with this company. Bought the Go from the LQS, but any problems are quickly solved by the company.

I'm in the minority. I bought the Go and it was way too limiting for me. I sold it and bought a big shot pro and love it. I can use almost any die on the market in it, including the Go dies I had bought when I had the Go. Also I had problems cranking the Go and the Big Shot Pro is so much easier (I think the new Go models have been improved in this department).

On the other hand my sister has a Go and is happy with it. She doesn't mind that it's limiting and for her, portability was more important.

Love my GO. It saves my shoulder. And I don't think there's much more waste than when I rotary cut. Actually, there's probably less waste as I was continually mis-cutting so wasting bigger chunks of fabric with the rotary cutter. My only issue is the price of the dies.

I don't own a GO but, a friend brings one into our bee for community quilt projects. It seems redundant to me. On hers, you have to cut the fabric a certain size to run it thru the machine. It seems like if i have to special cut the fabric, I might as well cut it the right size to begin with. But I can see it's usefulness to those that have arthritis or something that makes it hard to cut accurately.

I've noticed the younger quilters coming to my guild use all pre cuts and they all have a die cut machine of some kind. They use a rotary cutter to square up blocks but seldom use it to cut fabric pieces for a block. My DD won't cut fabric pieces using a ruler either. She buys pre cuts and uses the Go. I guess they think of the ruler and cutter as we do paper templates and scissors. LOL

I have the regular Big Shot. My friend has the Go and loves it. I'm considering one die for the Big Shot, it's cheaper than the Go, and since I wouldn't be using the Big Shot for anything else, $20 doesn't seem like a large amount.
It would just be the 2 1/2 inch die since I'd have to cut a lot of them. I got rid of most of the Sizzix stuff I had since it was too limiting. Kept the Big Shot for embossing only.

Friend is trying to convince me Go is superior. Maybe it is for most things, but when I can't design my own, it's no good. (I own the Silhouette Cameo should I want a custom applique and I usually do.)

I would buy the Fiskars Fuse instead....way cheaper. And then buy the Accuquilt dies to use with it.

The Fuse has a better crank ratio, making it easier to turn, and fewer turns needed. Plus, with adapters, you can use almost any die in the market with it (Studio dies don't work).

The Fuse is in between the Go! and the Studio, in my mind. Very nice and easy to use. Bigger than the Go!, a little less than the Studio.

I'm in love with the die cutting concept. Saves so much time! As far as fabric waste, I don't see it being a factor if you take a moment to plan how to lay the fabric out on the die ahead of time. The most I ever waste is 1/4" around the edges if it's a shape. On the strips I don't waste anything more than what I would doing it by hand with a rotary cutter and a June Tailor template.

I love my GO too........and I go to it every chance I get, but never thought about parchment paper linings....thanks for the heads up.........

I love my go. I don't have much waste. I just cover the area of that cuts with fabric...not the whole die. I was able to get most of the dies I use on sale..or clearance. I hear they don't allow price discounts anymore. I have about worn out my 2 1/2 inch strip die. I use patterns for jelly rolls ...but cut my own! I think it is worth the money. But...I love gadgets!

I think it would be totally cool to have. But how much would you be willing to pay for each shape? Say you went into a store and had to buy a packet of squares to make a quilt. How much is too much? Figure out how much you might use it. After about about 12 jelly rolls, you're pretty much even in the cost vs use.

I love my go! System...saves time/accuracy on the blocks, strips.
The others like puppy,cats, butterfly are nice but have to remember to appliqué those as quilting machine
Tends to pick up tiny edges as they go over it. Although I never had that problem yet. As for waste....very, very little. I have friends that wants leftover for their string projects.

I was gifted a Go and can't believe how much I use it. The trick is buying the right dies and not spending your money on those that you don't use often. I am much impressed with the accuracy and really use it much more than I thought I would. It also helps if you have a space where you can leave it set up with the dies close at hand.

I have the Accuquilt Go - and I am not overly fond of it, I do not do much applique, which it would be good for. Found that the 5" die was bent and not cutting a perfect 5" square. Tried cutting strips, but it is very hard for me to turn the crank, getting weak in my old age.

I love mine. When I want dies, I do an internet search and I almost always find them at a great discount. I like that many of the dies are designed to make your piecing easier (dog ears cut off already, etc.). I am now making quilts like the drunkards path, that I had avoided because I didn't want to cut out the pieces. Do a search for Ebony Love. She has experience with many cutters and even has a book.

I have the go and love it for strips. I do have a hard time though figuring out which way to run the grain of the fabric. My 5" squares were not coming out all the same and I was told it had to do with the grain of the fabric. If someone could give me advice on this problem I would be forever grateful as I love using the go.

I have the Baby Go. I got it at Jo-anns for $59.00 when it was on sale. I get the dies from Ebay most of the time. I love it.

I love my GO. It was one of the best investments I ever made and when you have to cut a gazillion pieces it sure does make quick work of the job. The dies last forever if you take care of them and they are always coming out with new ones.

I have got the #Big Shot, and they are bringing out more and more dies all the time, Santa bought it a couple of years ago and i didn't know then that i would get into quilting etc as much as i have and when i cut my first Dresden plate dies i couldn't believe how easy and precise it was,. love it, was looking at the go but they are soooo expensive and although i'd love one for bigger dies will have to put it on another 'Santa List'.
Get all my dies off Ebay and only when they are a good price, can't believe how much some people start the bidding at, way too high but can still get a bargain if you wait,

Is there a difference between the Baby and the regular Go beside size?

Many of the Go dies will not fit the Baby Go. You can compare at the accuquilt website.