OnebyOne--thank you for the link to the YouTube tute on making the bias binding--I bookmarked it for when I get this quilt off the frame.

and like you, I fan fold my fabric--and even just leave the excess to the side as it won't cut it when going through the GoBig--but have to say I didn't figure that out the first few times I used it and was cutting fabric to size of die!
I think that I SAVE waste as I don't waste as much fabric and get such accurate cuts.

QuiltyBarb--try it! I think you will find it so much easier than rotary cutting all your pieces with your arthritis. My friend has RA and just got her's--says it's keeping her quilting when she was worried that she was going to have to slow down. mine is electric one (Big) but have used the Go and found the crank not hard to use at all.

I LOVE my Accuquilt!!! There is more waste when using an Accuquilt though. Personally I am willing to trade the waste in exchange for the cutting process being faster and every cut being accurate. I am still working full time, so any time saving measures are very valuable to me. I will be purchasing the new electric model in the future.

I have the Go and do like it, but find the cost of dies too high.

The Sizzix can use all of the go dies

rob

JoAnn has the 1 1/2 strip cutter for the Go for 50% off right now.

My cutting mats last a long time. I don't position them to be in the same cutting spot for each cut. Just move it a smidge in all directions for each cut. And I don't use all the mat if I am only cutting part of the die. I'm still using some of my original mats that are years old. I have enough new ones bought on clearance to last me for many many quilts. Never pass up a clearance price on anything consumable.

Lynnie, I'm sorry you had that experience. I've had my Studio for about a year and cut probably 8 quilts with it. It is wonderful for 2.5 strips, 6.5 strips, squares, etc. and makes cutting triangles a breeze. The worst thing about itis the price of the dies, but since my arms and hands complain loudly about rotary cutting I decided the dies are worth it.

Could be that the die your friend purchased was defective. Or are you talking about the plastic sheet you put over the die when cutting? That does tend to look pretty beat after a while, but even so mine work fine.

I also figured out that even though the studio says I can cut 8 layers, 6 is usually a better number of layers.

Great idea to cut paper first with a new die! Thanks for sharing.

I think I know what you are saying, but not sure. I have the studio 2.5' strips, 5 strips across (12.5" total width cutting strips). I cut several 13.5" strips from the length of the fabric, fold them together lengthwise, press the fabric at the folds, and place it on the die so that I have about .5" extra on the outer edges of the length of the die. I get 5 sets of strips with one cut. I don't think the waste is excessive, and I have friends who take the thin .5" strips and use them as filling for dog beds, so, from my perspective, no real waste at all.

I press at the folds because it seems to minimize elbows at the fold lines.

Fan folding doesn't work as well for me.

The CUTTING MATS are 'consumables', like rotary cutters. You have to replace them periodically. The dies should last forever with proper maintenance. Use the pick to remove threads, especially where the blades meet. I have friends who use my studio an dies. I have them purchase their own mats.

As I've said before, I have never used mine and its still in the box....I'm sick about it because I paid $500 for it....thinking about selling it, but not sure where....

There are many Facebook quilt groups that have Accuquilt for sale pages. They are bought as soon as they are listed. You won't get $500 for it though, the new ones aren't that expensive. Usually around $150-$200 is the selling price for a pre owned one, new or used.

I started with the Go and have recently purchased the Big Go. I use the cutter for all quilts. I especially like using the cutter for appliqué shapes. I have rheumatoid arthritis in my hands. The Go allows me to keep quilting!

I have used duct tape on a cracked mat and it worked fine. But butt ugly. LOL

Haven't read all the posts yet but I have the Go Big Electric. LOVE IT!!! And yes, it is worth the money. I have my regular Go away because my shoulder couldn't handle the cranking.

thank you for all the comments! i'm still trying to decide...and am wondering....why NOT get the go Baby? the cubes work with it...and enough of the other dies. any reason to scale up to the regular size go?

I am considering getting one, I am a lousy cutter and like to use precuts, this would definitely be useful.

- yes, the scale up is ELECTRIC. lay the die down, off it goes. And , no, not all dies fit thru the baby.

ah, but since i am not sure how often i would use it......

I have the GoBig (electric) and can tell you that I use it at least for parts of every quilt I make--it's so easy and well worth the extra $$--saves my shoulder, saves my hand, makes my cuts more accurate, is faster, and since it's the full size, I know that I can use ANY of the dies they make for Go's.

The go baby would be a waste, imo. It can only fit the small dies up to I think 6"? So the largest cut size would be around 4" or 4.5" wide.

When someone asks me about the Go and say I don't know how often I'd use it, too much fabric waste, dies cost too much, or the mats wear out, I say then it's probably not for you and change the subject. The ones that start off with negatives about it end up not wanting to like it and prove that to themselves.

You won't be able to use any of the strip dies either. I probably use those more than any of the others except some for applique. I absolutely hate cutting out flowers, leaves, etc by hand so I use my GO Electric machine. Makes life so much easier. More time spent actually appliqueing/sewing. Hate to cut out too. Actually I love to piece/hand applique more than anything.

i'm not concerned with fabric waste, dies or mats...but because i do have limited time to quilt....trying to justify the bigger Go vs say buying the go baby to try it out. Anyone got a go baby that needs a home? :)

I love mine.

I got the studio for Christmas last year, on black friday, got a great deal, bought dies for the strips, 2 1/2 inch blocks and a few others. I have not used it yet, been busy and had lots of surgeries, so hoping to start using, i want to make a log cabin or two. I'm glad i have it and glad i bought the largest one. Its hard to know which one to buy, but go big or go home, thats one of my mottos, lol

Can the applique dies for the Go Big be used for invisible machine applique using the freezer paper method? I thought that the applique shapes would only be useful if doing fusible applique where you aren't trying to turn the edges under.Thanks!

I started with the GO! Now its for sale as I got the Go! BIG for a present this year...I cannot tell you how much I love the doge ears, the line ups and precision piecing I get with these dies...
Kirsten

Perfect sewing?
 

Hi. I have very little knowledge about the Go cutters. If I am not wrong, they cut the shapes precisely for you and that would mean that you have no room for error in your piecing. I am not very accurate in my piecing so I prefer an oversized block (exactly what ManiacQuilter said) then trim down. My favourite rulers are Deb Tucker's ruler as her method of constructing blocks is to make them bigger then trim down.
Sandra

You are correct....the app dies are designed for fusible method.

The shapes will be 1/4" smaller if you use them for turned applique. I cut shapes for my friend to hand applique using the Go. She does a neat block. Appliques all the pieces with a tiny background showing around each piece. Her nine patch block is stunning done this way.

I think you will find that the Silhouette, because of fusible required to cut the fabric, basically means raw edge applique too. Not sure how the Scan N' Cut treats applique.

Also--for those of you that oversize blocks and then cut them down--that works great on some blocks, but would mean cut off points on many(ask how I know?!). Because the Go does such an accurate job of cutting the pieces, the result is more accurate blocks.

I have the go, just the regular size, not baby or big. I love it, use it a lot. I only have a few dies, mostly use 2 1/2 strips. Am planning on using some of the others....someday! I got mine when the LQS decided to stop carrying them so it was 50% off. Good deal, good tool!

For me personally, while I don't use mine all the time, when I DO use it, I'm cutting a whole quilt. Sort of like making my own personal kit. When I do that, I often end up wishing I had bought the "Studio" cutter.

While I can't speak to the Sizzix or Scan&Cut or other die systems, here's my thoughts on the various AccuQuilt products and the pro's and con's of each:

GoBaby - Pro's - lightweight, very portable, perfect if you're planning to take it to a class. Con's - many of the AccuQuilt dies will NOT fit in this system. (Personally, I would NOT buy this one) Also, if you have hand/joint issues (RA, carpel tunnel, etc) this is a hand-crank system, so might be painful to use. It cannot use other companies' dies.

GO! - Pro's - all the AccuQuilt GO dies (but not the Studio dies) will fit; can cut 6 layers easily, 8 layers with a little "muscle"; Con's - again, this is a hand-crank system, so same concerns for hand/joint issues. Also, cannot use the Studio dies. It cannot use other companies' dies.

GO!Big - much the same as the regular "GO!", except this one is electric, so if you have those hand/joint issues, this is probably your best choice.

Studio cutter - Pro's - has larger dies, can accept all GO! dies (WITH AN ADAPTER); can handle more layers of fabric (which means you get done faster); also can accept other companies dies (again, with an adapter in some cases). Con's - again, this one is hand-crank (but I was told it is not as difficult as the Go! systems); Price may be a factor as well, as it's about $100 more than the GO!Big, but if you are a heavy user, this is the one I would recommend.


Even though I would not consider myself a "heavy" GO! user, I truly wish I had gotten the Studio version.

My comment to those who say they like being able to "trim" down... personally, I find that the cuts from my GO! actually make me be more accurate, especially the HST's, because of the dog-ears already being cut off (it's almost worth the cost just for that alone!). I have most of the strip sets, the Double Wedding Ring (talk about a LIFE SAVER!!!), the Dresden Plate (LOVE this die!!), as well as SunBonnet Sue and her boyfriend, and the Calico Cat and Gingham Dog dies.

Love my GO!

Found mine on craigs list. After I learned to cut correctly I got rid of it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoBKOv3Azzw

Granted the video above on power cutting gives excellent and precise instruction for straight line cutting, but it too has its limitations on volume cutting.......she basically cuts yardage, whereas with die cutters you can cut chunks/scraps into shapes desired too. Like all the other 'tools" available today, we decide which works best for us. I personally have a GO with a multitude of dies and a Sizzix big shot with dies. Am now contemplating the big shot pro to allow purchase of the larger dies....but there again, my decision, because some of the dies offered from those mfgrs offer more challenging block creations with precise cuts.......JMHO

I don't have a die cutter, but having used one I would say that yes, I really love it, and I will buy one when I'm closer to retirement (and will have more time for quilting).

My guild had one when I lived in a city, and I was able to cut out an entire apple core quilt in about half an hour. I would never have made that quilt if I had to cut the pieces with a template. That is my primary reason for wanting to buy one; it makes non-square cutting much easier.

I did use the HST die as well, and found that my blocks turned out so accurate that I didn't have to trim down. Maybe I would like HST's more if I had a die cutter... right now they're my least favorite part of quilting, and I haven't made one since I moved away from the Go.

There are certainly downsides; you're limited to the available die sizes, there is some waste (although not much when you get good at folding/preparing your fabric), the dies are expensive relative to rotary cutter blades, and it requires storage space. For me, these are far outweighed by the benefits of speed and accuracy that it provides.

I would definitely recommend the Go over the Go Baby; the Baby doesn't have the variety of dies available that I would want. I've only used the Go Baby at a store demo, but I also found it harder to crank than the Go.

Do you have a picture? I'm not sure what you mean that there is a tiny background around each shape. Are the appliques put on the piecing? Thanks for answering, I just saw your reply. Beth

I have the Studio. I love it. I tend to make big quilts, so it makes things easier. I used to have the Go and Go Baby, but they were small. I am really using my Studio a lot more now that I help with my QOV group, putting together kits. I cut a lot of strips and tumblers.

I love my go. I purchased it several years ago and buy my dies when they are on sale. I'm getting quite a collection. I really like the accuracy of the cuts. It helps with sewing the blocks together and keeping everything sized correctly. I'm happy that I made the decision to have one. I use it for cutting most of my quilts and embroidery work. It helps with the taming and cutting of scraps. I would be lost without it.