Just make sure your needle is sharp so you can get it through all those layers without putting too much stress on your machine. You'll likely break thread before you kill your machine ;-).

stitchnripper, do you have any pictures of your purses? So thats about 8 layers then? I called the store I bought it from and he said to just adjust the dial from 3 to 2, and use longer stitches, both which I didn't do. I told him my bobbin was bouncing quite a bit, but he said it shouldn't be any problem for the machine.

It looks like you increased the batting layers in order to make it usable. I would suggest that you use Insul-bright to make it heat proof and then you won't have the bulk problem

My Babylock has a plastic bobbin and I have sewn a very heavy purse with lots of heavy lining and several very dense notebook covers with lots of interfacing and heavy pockets and didn't have any trouble. Just went slow and was careful.

I made the wrap around pot holders for both of my SILs. I used batting plus Insul-Bright so that they wouldn't get hurt using them and also so that they could be used on a table to set a hot dish on without damaging the table. The ends of the pot holder was fabric, batting, Insul-Bright, fabric, batting and fabric. I quilted it on my DSM and had no problems at all. I did go slow at each end so I wasn't asking my machine to work any harder than it had to, but at no time did it balk at what I was asking it to do.

I have sewn through so many layers, the item barely fit under the presser foot. Broke a needle or two that way, but there was little choice since I was making carry-alls with interfacing, batting and piping. My Bernina hasn't let me down yet.

If I'm sewing through several layers, like for hot pads, I lengthen my stitch length to accommodate the depth. The first quilt I ever did (and I knew absolutely NOTHING about quilting), I used a cheater panel my sister gave me, the backing fabric, two layers of an old quilted mattress pad and one layer of batting. Overkill, maybe, however, it made the perfect play quilt for my daughter, as she could take it outside on the grass and no rocks or sticks ever came through. I did SID, the cheater panel had 6" squares, and my Sears Kenmore just sewed right through all layers. To be honest though that machine really did like to sew on heavier fabrics, only gave me fits on thin cotton fabrics. Go figure.

Marge, I have an older kenmore that I still love to use. It has never been serviced and its about 30 years old, and works just like it did when I bought it.

I use 3 layers of cotton batting and then 2 layers of fabric, then I quilt it in an "X" pattern in both directions. I bind it with double fold binding like I would a quilt. I use either my Bernina 930 or a treadle machine.
Sharon W