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I have two straight stitch only machines with 9" throats and I can quilt large quilts with ease on either one of them. I have quilted 79 quilts by machine quilting. Some were done on machines with smaller throats. Practice is the key to doing anything.
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Well, I posted a reply earlier but guess I didn't hit the right button. I really appreciate all the suggestions. I'm definitely keeping an eye on craigslist and will for sure check out the books mentioned. I've learned so much here already and can't tell you how much I appreciate everyone's help.
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I gave up on doing teh long lines with a home machine, and bought used industrails 11 1/2" x 6". I now have 4 of these machines, There prices was 100$ , 125 $ 50 $ and 55$, The newest is a 1940, the oldest is a 1922 walking foot...
These machines are showing up on C/L, often cheaper than a home machine, because so many are afriad of using them.. P.S. my average time doing 12 straight 8 foot sew line and 12 @ 7 foot was 8 hrs, now it's 2 hrs and no hurting back, no cusing the machine |
If you have a good sewing machine sales/repair shop within a reasonable drive, I'd contact them. You might be able to get a used machine for a good price. For the last machine I bought, I knew what I wanted (a Bernina model that had been discontinued) so called the local dealer. Although they said that model didn't come in for trade often, they added my name to a list. They called back within a couple of months.
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Or you might also check at JoAnn's for a SInger Confidence Quilter...they're often on sale for about $300 and they do a good job. (Yes, I know Singer has had a lot of bad press lately, much of it deserved.) I have one among my herd, but I don't often FMQ on any of them as I have a LA.
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The Brother 1500s has a 9" throat. It is a straight stitch only and makes a very nice quilting stitch.The presser foot is adjustable for pressure and it is easy to adjust the depth of the feed dogs. I think Juki made these for Brother. They are not computerised and are very heavy. I like mine very much and think you can get one for around $500 in the States.
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Originally Posted by BellaBoo
(Post 5423646)
I have the Brother 1500. It has a very wide throat space. It's a great machine for quilting. It is built to last for decades like the vintage machines. Now they are selling new between $600 - $700. I don't know of any other large throat space machine for under that price.
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After my post yesterday, I went home and checked out an older Singer I had purchased through Craigslist last year hoping it was a model 201. It's a Model 15-91 BUT it has a wider and taller throat than the machine I'm using now. So I'm going to clean it up and get it running (hopefully) and use it until I can afford one of the newer machines. Have to admit that I'm pretty excited about sewing on one of these again. My Mom had something similar to it that I learned to sew on. This will be fun!!!
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Originally Posted by Shelbie
(Post 5424475)
You might consider a vintage Singer 201. Although the harp space is about an inch shorter than my Janome 6500 (which has the larger harp) it is higher and I find that I can quilt a King sized quilt on it. The feed dogs drop for FM quilting and it is a fast powerful machine. It stitches much better than my Janome 6500 that I paid $2000 for. My Singer 201 was a free machine from an estate sale and came in a cabinet. Check Craig's List (Kijiji in Canada) for old black Singers which often sell in the $100 range.
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I recommend you look for a vintage machine, possibly a Singer model 15. The harp was not necessarily a lot wider, but the open area was taller than the new machines by quite a bit, which also allows more quilt to fit in the space. Computer or cam controls in the head caused it to become much bigger around, resulting in less space between the head and the base.
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