contemplating an accuquilt go
 

A favorite quilt shop has started carrying the accuquilt go's....the baby, the go and the go Big....its the first time i've actually gotten to see one being used, and i admit to being a little intrigued with the idea...but i wonder, how much use will i really get from it. They are also selling the "cubes" which are the sets of dies to make blocks...and i think at least the 6" block size will work with the go baby. i am especially thinking of applique....

My question is...for those of you who have it, do you really REALLY like it? is it worth it to buy the regular size go vs the go baby? how did you make your decision?

thank you!

I love my go big. I have all three sizes but only got the baby because I found it on clearance dirt cheap. It took me awhile to start using it for more than just hexies though. I have cut several thousand hexagons for the 2 finished and one ready to start gfg's. But that was all I used it for until I fell in love with it for doing Grand Illusion, a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt. If you are cutting something repetitious, it is so worth the cost of the dies. But if I only need a few of a particular piece , then I rotary cut. For example, I just cut a twin size hunter star quilt in a little over an hour with it. However I don't use it at all for a sampler quilt. As for appliqué, look at the available dies and see if you think you would use them.

Feathers-n-fur gave a great answer. It really does depend on the types of quilts you make. It's great for quilts with repeating shapes of the same size: HSTs, Hexagons, strips etc. As far as the applique shapes are concerned, you really need to ask yourself how many times are you going to use a particular shape to determine if it's cost effective. You can get used dies on ebay. A die cutter is a time saver, but for me the biggest advantage is accuracy.

I bought a 'Go' second hand about 5 years ago. I only have strip and square dies (the ones that came with it). I do use it and one day will also buy the rag quilt die, so I can avoid all the snipping. I also plan to buy the drunkards path dies.

I do not do applique.

I do not know that I would buy the 'Baby', it is just a bit too small for me.

All of my sew group have one and we all use each other's dies. We will have a custom die made for a specific pattern we want to make if one is not available. I use the regular Go more then the Go Big or Go Baby. I like the Size of the Go. Easy to move and set up. I bought another Go at Hancocks going out of business sale dirt cheap. I doubt there are any left but wouldn't hurt to look.

I have GO...love it and every die I have invested in! Wish the Qubes were out when I started buying dies! As good an investment as purchasing a sewing machine.

Love, love, love it, rag die is amazing, got the 12" qube but not used it yet.

A friend bought hers from a quilt shop and that shop will loan out a variety of dies if you bought the cutter from their shop. But really, how often will you use it? I prefer to oversize my blocks when I can and if I need strips cut, I can use my June Tailor Quilt Shape Cut Pro.

I have one but I only use it for the raggy cut and curved blocks. Anything else I can cut with much less waste with my rotary cutter & rulers.

Check your dies carefully when you buy them - I have gotten one that was supposed to be a square but one dimension was 1/8" off. Naturally I didn't notice until AFTER I'd chopped up a bunch of fabric with it. :thumbdown:

I use it for every quilt I make. I have the strip dies in every size. I can make a 6" wide border or an 1 1/2" wide border for a queen size quilt in one turn. I cut bias binding in less then a minute.

I cut a piece of paper first with every new die. If the dimension is off I get a replacement. I check each new die this way. I don't cut fabric before I check the die. Many times the paper will be cut perfectly to size and the fabric will be off. I know then that the fabric is shifting. I either have the grain line in the wrong direction or the fabric is stretching due to low thread count. If the fabric is prone to raveling it will stretch. A piece of paper on the blade before the fabric will usually solve the problem.

Since being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, I would be lost without my GO. Rotary cutting is a pain for me now.... literally... GO for it. (pun intended) :)

Sharing dies would be a great way to go. Oh wait...to answer your question. yes, it is truly worth the money. Do you have any idea how much material I have ruined because of ruler slip when I was using my rotary cutter? I can't even begin to tell you how much. Ugh!

Yes, you can buy used dies, but the cost isn't all that much less than a new one, from what I have seen. I have been looking on Craigslist, Ebay, and on Facebook.

The one thing to keep in mind is, you can always sell a die if you decide it was a one-time use item, and most likely it will sell. A second thought is if you buy the dies from the Accuquilt site, you do earn points for every dollar to be used against future purchases. Yes, it may take a while to add up, but even $5 off is $5! Another to keep in mind is it is always easier to use a smaller die in the medium size (Go!) machine, while many dies will not fit into the Baby. Just my .02 which is really only worth about half of that :)

Good luck and let us know when you decided.

thank you for all of your insights! i think i will be thinking about this for a bit <g>

Dont buy the baby....its too small. Buy the electric one. My arm gets tired turning the crank. I never would have made my grandmothers flower garden with out it. (more than 1000 hexes). I use the 5" and plate of 2.5 squares to cut up leftover yardage for scrap quilts later (I have a ton of charm packs now), I next plan to use it on the winding ways quilt...that is a pain to cut out. I love my electric one. Go for it.

I have the go and cannot tell you how much time it has saved me in cutting strips and rectangles. Much more accurate than I am with a ruler and rotary cutter. Get it, you won't be sorry.

Another great use for the GO is for cutting scrapes into useable pieces for scrap quilts. That actually was the main reason I bought mine.

The only thing I didn't like about the Go was that you can only use Go dies in it. I sold mine and bought a big shot pro and can use almost every die on the market in it. But it's not electric.

twoxover: If you are a Facebook member, you can request to join Accuquilt and Beyond where you can ask this question or just follow along and look at pictures of quilts and read the comments posted by others.

Onebyone: The Hancock Fabrics by me had two Accuquilt Go boxes sitting on a shelf yesterday. I didn't even look at the price since I wasn't interested in another one. I have the regular Go! and the Go! Big. I should have checked the price and let volunteers know at an organization group in case anyone else wanted one. Oh, well! I did buy a 5" die when it was 40 % off.

Connie

I love my big shot pro. I use a wide variety of dies in it, including the go dies.

I especially love being able to make "precuts" with my scraps. It is a major time saver for me since I tend to generate a lot of scraps.

rob<object type="cosymantecnisbfw" cotype="cs" id="SILOBFWOBJECTID" style="width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block;"></object>

I love mine too - all it takes to fall in love after cutting out a quilt in record time. My friend wanted to make a DWR quilt for her DD that got married and while she ironed & starched the fabric, I cut. We were done in a bit over an hour for a king size quilt! And I like that all my strips are the same size - no error or accidental slips. I do use the June Tailor Shape cutter too, but when cutting the rest of the quilt with the GO, I use the die. When the dies go on sale that is when I buy more. And if you have other friends, that are interested in getting some, you can group an order and get free shipping.

I bought mine at the Road to California Quilt Show several years ago, they had a special going on. Keep your eyes open, Accuquilt has specials fairly often, and as others have said, check you local Hancock's (If you have one, they never made it to the San Diego area.), and Craig's list.

I have had one for several years. I have many dies! I am in a quilt group that is doing the 1930 Farmers Wife blocks (6.5 inches). I have the 6 inch Qube (finished size), and there are many of the block pieces I can cut with it. They always go together perfect and are so much easier than rotary cutting or cutting with the templates. I can't cut all of the pieces but I can cut many of them. On some blocks I can cut the whole thing with it. I have the Hunters Star die and it goes together beautifully, as does the Churn Dash, I could go on an on! I have the GO that I use them with.

What are Qubes?

Onebyone--how do you cut bias binding with yours? I'm needing to cut bias for a scalloped quilt and didn't even think about using my Go--do share??

I love my GoBig--bought it during their sale after Thanksgiving ($50 off) and bought the strip set, then bought the triangle in the square in 2 sizes (I always mess that up trying to rotary cut!) and the log cabin--all on sale. I plan on getting a Qube next summer at the KC Regional Quilt Fest but still debating which size seems most practical to me. I can cut soooo much more accurately and it's amazingly fast!

I have a Shillouete Cameo that I got for appliques(but have to use fusible and only layer at a time) and for cardstock and vinyls--works great for that but doesn't hold a candle to using the Go for fabrics. I got the GoBig cause I realized I really needed to be more accurate plus was having shoulder pain when cutting and standing to cut a whole quilt left my knees super sore--well worth it.

If if I am not mistaken, there is a tutorial online for cutting bias strips.

Qubes are boxed sets of dies which include several common shapes and sizes. One neat (but slightly costly all at one time) little box :)

I didn't know Handcock carried Accuquilt! I wonder if they are included in the big going out of business sale they are having. I may have to stop. (pouts) wish I knew that earlier!!

I found a Go with starter die and mat at Hancock's stuck in the back with the upholstery fabric and bought it for 60% off. They started out with 40% off. The dies sold out when they were 40% off. I didn't need the Go but for that price it will be a great item for my guild auction.

Hi, I felt the same way it took me years before I purchased my first Go, this May. So, glad I did it has saved me so much time and has caused me to want to make more stuff. I work a lot with 5" squares that I cut down to 2.5" squares I just purchased the die for 2.5" sq. I was going to get the Go Baby because it was cheaper but after talking to retreat member went ahead and got the Go. Go for it you will enjoy it.

true, and Sizzix dies are less expensive, but their choice is very limited last time I looked anyway, wish they would expand....another cutter is called crossover...I understand it takes any die, but I don't know anyone who has one.

i have both Sizzix and GO and not regretting either purchase. Sort of like having two- or more-sewing machines...each has its own job....

I have had one for probably 4 or 5 years. I now have the GO Big and I don't think I could live without it. I absolutely love the appliqué dies using the machine embroidery designs. I also love the strip dies. I use them for bindings, sashings, and borders. I also use them for cutting squares for 4 and 9 patch blocks. I love, love, love the block ones I.e., the Hunter's Star, drunkard's path, etc. It is wonderful how all the pieces fit together with these block dies. I have wanted to make a Hunter's Star quilt for a long time but never had the gumption to cut out all those little pieces until I got my GO. It is so easy and so quick with the GO.

Im sorry to say that I bought mine last summer and it's still in the box....It has two dies and I finally decided to sell it...I have rhuematoid arthritis and when I bought my sewing machine, the salesperson kinda talked me into the acquiltquilt...was expensive for me and I wish I hadn't bought it.....

Why didn't you try it? A few guild members have rheumatoid arthritis and depend on the Go for their cutting. They praise the Go all the time.

I have the Accuquilt Go and I do like it. I will not say it's always the easiest thing to use. I like it with small scraps of fabric the best. I find that when I am cutting large strips of fabric on the 2 1/2" strip cutter, I first have to cut the size first and then put it through the strips. It's nice but sometimes I just prefer my June Taylor cutting ruler. I think people who like to make unusual shapes would prefer using this.

I think they have a lot of choices. 18 pages of quilting and applique dies here: http://www.sizzix.com/catalog?crumb=...7&type=product

I fan fold a yard of fabric on the strip die. No pre cutting required. Very little waste.

Here is how to cut perfect bias binding using the strip die.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BplykP9p_OE

I just had my first experience using one in Kimberly Einmo's appliqué class in April but haven't made the plunge. I didn't see any negative feedback... What about the price?

Unless you are going for the electric Go Big, I recommend getting a sizzlx Big Shot Pro as you can use both go dies and sizzlx dies. You can even use accuquilt studio dies. And the Go and Big Shot Pro are about comparable in price.

I've had mine since they first came out and hardly ever use it. I think the most use I've gotten out of it was cutting 300 hearts out of white fabric for my son's wedding and 150 butterflies for the same. Since then it's sat on the floor not doing anything.

I love mine and have made a point to purchase coordinating dies.