Help.. Sit down quilting machine, front or side quilting?
 

I am looking to buy a sit down quilting machine and was wondering which would be the best, a front or side quilting machine or isn't there any different?

I seen some machines that you have the head facing you when you quilt and some are just like a sewing machine.. which do you think would be best or doesn't it make a difference..The Bailey quilts like a sewing machine where the sweet sixteen quilts with you facing the head.

which would be better.. Thanks

Good question. I'll be interested to see the responses, too.

I think that it is a matter of where you will place the machine and where you have room for extra tables.
When the machine is oriented facing you, the quilt is to your left and right.
When the machine is oriented as a normal sewing machine, the quilt is to your left and in front of you.

I chose an APQS George and kne reason was that i needed to have the bulk to my left and in front of me rather than in one plane to the left and right.

You should visit dealers & try out different set ups to see what works for you. What might be my preference you may hate,it's a personal decision each of us have our own ( comfort zone)

I agree with ckcowl.

My two cents...I tried fmq on my DSM and while I had some success, I was still frustrated with the results. I bought a HQ Sweet Sixteen with the orientation being perpendicular to me. It was a liberating experience! I no longer ran into the right side of the throat space on my DSM machine, which even tho it is about 9 inches, if you are doing a bigger project, you have to try and move the quilt within that space. So the quilting machines oriented like your DSM, while they give you more width, more than the 9" on my DSM for example, a lot of them are still very similar in height space in the harp. This also affects your field of view. I admit, I cannot quote measurements of those machines, but I can tell you that my DSM harp height is 5". So even if I now have 15" width on a quilting machine, you might find that the height is still a limitation, in terms of how much quilt you can cram in to the harp space and then how much freedom you have to move your quilt around to fmq. I believe the harp height on my S16 is about 9-10" (it's away for service at the moment, so I can't measure it), and the harp width is 16". So by comparison, I have a lot more room to move the bulk of a queen or king sized quilt around. Furball makes a good point. Bottom line, it is what works for you. I've never tried one oriented like my DSM because my brain had a hard enough time adjusting to fmq where I can move the fabric any which way I want , whenever I want after nearly forty years of only going forward a reverse. I just found with the perpendicular orientation, it was easier as I think it broke down that resistance to move in any direction, because there was no physical barrier to the left or right.

Other considerations when comparing the various machines would be bobbin capacity, stitch rate, price vs budget, service, stitch regulation options, and so on. Sorry, it's not as straightforward as orientation of the machine, IMHO.

BTW, my hat is off to the many quilters that turn out those beautiful, intricately machine quilted masterpieces on their DSM's. While I can do a decent job of a placemat on my DSM, anything much bigger is beyond my capabilities and patience on a DSM!!

The advantage of the front-facing machines like the Sweet 16 is that you can center your quilt instead of arbitrarily having a small section on one side. I have one extension on the side of my table (and old computer desk) and one extension on the front (put together by my awesome husband) to give me even more room. I just finished a queen sized quilt without any problems.

Good question. My friend has one and she has it facing her like a LA. It depends I guess on how you set up support for your quilt and what is comfortable for you.

I think the ones that face you with the machine to the back are easier. I have tried both but have not purchased. You are limited as to how far back you can go due to arm length. Side to side is free to sway as much as you like.

Kwiltr, I love your use of the word "liberating" in regards to the Sweet Sixteen. That's the perfect description of that set up. You don't have to twist your head this way and that to see the needle with the machine at the back. It's like having a wide open space. My preference - machine to the back. Glad we all like different things so manufacturers will keep churning out wonderful new products for us to love.