AccuQuilt vs. Sizzix
 

After going through and organizing my stash and scraps, I found tons of fabric for scrap quilts.
After reading all the positive comments of using die cut machines to cut 2.5" squares, I am seriously considering purchasing one, maybe as my "Valentines' gift" from my DH.
Do y'all have pros/cons on the Accuquilt, Accuquilt Go, and/or the Sizzix?
Thanks in advance for your replies. I appreciate and respect your honesty, opinions, and wisdom.

The Sizzix Big Shot Pro can be used with almost every die on the market. The only ones that don't fit are the biggest Studio dies. The Studio can be used with every die. The Go can only be used with Go dies. The advantage of the Go is the low price and the small size and portability. To me it was harder to crank. The Big Shot Pro is huge and heavy and needs a dedicated space, but it's easier to crank. I don't know anything about the Studio.

One thing to consider is how many squares there are per die. One of the advantages of a Studio over the Go! is that you can purchase larger dies that cut more at a time, plus you can cut more layers at a time with the Studio. I have a Go!, which is fine. One of the things I like about it is that it is easy to fold up and put away, taking up very little space when I don't need it. If I ever have both (1) enough money and (2) enough dedicated space available, I will seriously consider getting a Studio. I will look at the Sizzix also, but I'm not sure I want to be dealing with shims (necessary if you want to use Go! dies in the Sizzix). From what I have read, both the Studio and Sizzix are easy to crank. My Go! was stiff at first, but has gotten easier to crank with use.

Personally, I would not buy a die cutter just for cutting 2.5" squares since I enjoy using the June Tailor Shape Cut mat for cutting strips, and strips can be subcut with the mat into squares. There are some Youtube videos that demonstrate how to do this.

Unlike many, I do not enjoy using my Go! for cutting strips, squares, or rectangles. What I find it most useful for is odd shapes -- tumblers, squares (nips off all the dog ears which makes lining up with squares and other triangles very easy), circles, etc.

Actually, if you get the adapter from Accuquilt that allows you to use the GO dies in the Studio, it works with the Sizzix Big Shot Pro and you don't have to mess with shims or anything like that. I use the adapter with my GO dies and they cut just fine. I have the GO and never use it now--I use the BSP for everything.

How much is the adapter? I've had good luck using shims but if the adapter isn't too expensive I'd get that.

The 24 inch one is $32.99 and the 12 inch one is $19.99. As many of my dies are longer than 12 inches, I got the long one. You do have to have the extended tray for the BSP to use the 24 inch one. Mine came with the extended tray.

Forgot to say, you can order them from the Accuquilt website.

Whoa. I'll keep using shims. I can buy a few yards of fabric for that much.

What about the regular Big Shot vs Go Baby? Imwould love a bigger one but just don't have the funds....

I have just gotten my Go and I really like it. Studio would be great but the price tag is huge. Before you consider any cutter be aware that there is quite a bit of waste. It does not bother me but I know that it bothers many. By the way, the new Go is a breeze to crank. They improved the mechanism. The new one has Ricky Tims on the box. Good luck.

I'm pretty sure they're about the same size, but the regular big shot would take more dies (sizzix dies plus go baby dies). I have a regular big shot and a big shot pro.

I have been using my rotary cutter for my latest project. I now know why I love my Go and studio. 1. I am still cutting my pieces - if I had used my studio would be done. 2. back is hurting from all the bending down and cutting.
I decided to try cutting my hand/rotary sine I want to save every inch....the Go and Studio has very little waste but for this project I could not lose even a 1/4 inch. I will say next time I will just buy extra fabric...not worth the penny pinching. Also for those that say the dies cost alot...on sale they are not bad. Rotary blades and templates are expensive.

If I had a dedicated space, I would get the Big Shot Pro. I have the Go, and love how it folds up and can be hidden away. If you truly only want to cut 2.5" squares, you could get the Go Baby.

i don't have much waste at all. You just need to cut your fabric to fit the die. All I have left when using my GO are small strings.

Ditto. I never understand when I hear that "there is so much waste."

I use the Fiskars fuse machine and Accuguilt Go dies. (Does not take the Studio dies though) Works great.

Saved money by buying the Fiskars Fuse on sale one time at Joann's for $99. The fuse will take all Go and Sizzix dies. You do need to buy or make adapter plates to use the other brands of quilting dies with the Fuse. With the Go dies I use a sheet of 3/16 (0.177) plexiglass as my bottom plate and a piece of .093 lexan plexiglass for the cutting plate.

The Big Shot cannot take the 6" accuquilt dies because they are actually a bit wider than 6". You are limited to the 5" accuquilt dies in the Big Shot.

How much wider are they? the opening of my big shot is 6-1/4".

btw they also make quilting dies for the regular big shot.
http://www.sizzix.com/catalog#facets...pplique&page=1

according to this video, you can use the narrow dies in the big shot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRJwtobRnKI

according to this video, you can use the narrow dies in the big shot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRJwtobRnKI

Someone posted in this thread that some work and some do not.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...k-t171406.html

I had the Go and Go Baby and switched to the Studio. I use the adapters and kept a lot of my dies. I also have some Sizzix dies and the adapter for them. Even though the Studio is "stationary," I find it more versatile for my use. I also use Ebony Love's book, "The Big Little Book of Fabric Die Cutting Tips," for reference. She also talks about using the different dies on different machines and has a website.

Watch for sales and compare prices. I bought my Studio when Accuquilt had a great sale. However, Accucut (a sister company) sells the Studio under the name of the GrandeMark. They don't have sales at the same time. I know other sites like JoAnns, Michaels (?), and Amazon may also sell the Sizzix machines.

Buy what will work for you.

I have both the accuquilt Go and the Studio cutter and I love both but with the studio you cut more and really jumbo dies are used to cut big shapes. It all depend on what you want to do with the cutter. The bigger ones are more for quilt shops. I got the studio as I am starting a kit business.
Since I got three studio cutters I am selling my Go which is like new in the original box with bunch of dies with it :-)

Here is Ebony Love's website. http://www.lovebugstudios.com/

The cutters sound like a good way to cut pieces but looking at the prices of unit & dies I can buy A LOT OF FABRIC & cut with my rotary cutter. Maybe if a person made quilts for sale I could understand buying the pro. I will stick to cutting my own pieces - thank you

I have the GO..for several yrs now. Have NO regrets...great way to make your own kits.......or even keep fab under control....starting with just a few dies..you will find slowly you will add to your collection........several online sties offer good prices.....am waiting for a "package" now, maybe today it will be delivered.......

Go to Lovebugstudios.com or look up Ebony Love Studio on Youtube. She has a book that compares all of the die cutters on the market and what dies can be used with what cutters. She takes all of the guess work out of looking. Plus she ia an awesome person and very funny on her blogs.

Has anyone heard of the new Brother electronic cutter? If I understand the concept correctly, it doesn't require dies & is multipurpose. The price seemed reasonable to me, under $400.00 since there wasn't the expense of the dies. I am wondering if all the sales on the cutters is because of this new completion. I am holding out purchasing anything till I hear more about it.

Personally, I would not buy a die cutter just for cutting 2.5" squares since I enjoy using the June Tailor Shape Cut mat for cutting strips, and strips can be subcut with the mat into squares. There are some Youtube videos that demonstrate how to do this.

Prism99 said the above and I agree with her. Only I don't always use my shape cut. cutting 2.5 " strips and then subcutting is fast and fun. However, I'm notmuch into handling 2.5 " squares. I just sew the strips together and then subcut. That way the small stuff has already become the big stuff. froggyintexas

I have the Accuquilt and love it, folds up nice and can be stored away. Went through my old jeans and figured I'd make a jean rag got through a large stack very quickly - used all three die sizes to avoid waste. Bought myself the Sizzix Big Shot for Christmas ( a price I could not pass up), just unpacked it yesterday but have not tried it yet.... may have to play with that some this evening! Interesting information - thanks!

I am also holding out for the new Brother Scan N Cut. I'm going to go to the Phoenix quilt and sewing expo the end of January and hoping Mulqueens has one there to see and show how it works. I've watched the utube videos but would like to see it hands on before purchasing.

I have the studio cutter (at the time it was the only way to be able to get custom dies). I love it and have very little waste on any of the straight cuts. There is a little bit more on some of the curved cuts (rob peter to pay Paul for example) but the joy it becomes to sew together is just beatiful. (Especially for an over zealous relatively newbie.)

With purchasing any of the strip cutters you can easily make diamonds (whatever angle you chose), squares, and with different sized strip cutters you can even make rectangles. The dies can be a little bit expense, but those rotary cutter blades aren't cheap either! And the dies last for years, even the ones I use weekly!

I'm starting a red and white quilt where I'm making an Irish chain (kind of) with small pinwheels (using 1" HST). The rotary cutter and I don't always get along so I couldn't imagine cutting out all those HSTs any having any kind of decent accuracy without it.

I've started with the back. I had some fat quarters I picked up in the same line as the binding fabric and have decided to make an off centre focus piece on point in the upperish left corner on the back using the rob Peter to pay Paul die and it's coming out beautifully. While I agree cutting machines aren't right for everyone, I think for some of us they are a great tool to allow us to broaden our quilting horizons, which is never a bad thing.

If you have time before selecting a machine, I would recommend reading Ebony Love's book first and the. Deciding from there. Or, if you have friends who have different machines try them out. I'd invite you over to try my AccuQuilt Studio cutter out, but Ontario in Canada is probably a little to far to come just to try it!

I've had the GO for about 1 1/2 yrs and love it. It certainly saves my arthritic hands and my cutting is very accurate with it. I don't waste that much material and pieces go into the crumb box anyway to be used later :) Most of my cuts have been rags, triangles, & shapes & I buy many dies on eBay (I live an hour from anywhere & online is easiest for me).