Inexpensive sewing machine with wider throat?
 

I would like to buy an inexpensive sewing machine with a wider (or longer) throat (I think that's what you call it.) I like to machine quilt and have no problems with a baby size one but with bigger quilts, it's just about impossible to get a good finish with the Brother I have. Now, I saw one at Hancocks for $800 but cannot spend that much right now. Anybody know of a less expensive one I get for now until I save up for the more expensive one? TIA.

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.

I have the Brother 1500, too, and love it. I ordered mine online for $700 with an extension table and several feet including 1/4 inch and walking foot. I have quilted king sized quilts on it.

Thank ya'll. Sounds like I may have to wait a bit and save my money. Good to know what works tho. Thanks.

Have you looked on youtube for tutes on fmq on home machines? Leah Day has one on there that is helpful. One tute says to quilt bigger quilts in quadrants or 1/4 th's. It can be done on your little machine, you just have to do it a certain way. Also would suggest a slider to make the quilt move better and make sure that your thread is feeding freely. I got all this info from youtube and Sharon Schamber. Look at her sites for more information. Good luck. Gina

Here is a great book for those who do not or cannot free motion quilt. It is for quilting with a walking foot on regular machine. [h=1]One Line at a Time: 24 Geometric Machine-Quilting Designs Made Easy by Charlotte Warr Andersen[/h]

I used the methods in Marti Michell's book, Machine Quilting in Sections, to quilt huge quilts before I got a longarm. Even with a larger throat, you will have trouble with large quilts, but quilting in sections lets you handle any size with ease. There are several methods described in the book, along with examples that help you decide which method is appropriate for your quilt. (Quilting in sections is NOT the same as quilt as you go.)

With a budget, you might want to check Craigslist for a machine. When I was looking for a machine, I searched all the cities within a reasonable driving distance.
I know of a lady in my quilt guild who is selling a Brother 1500 but I'm not sure how much she is selling it for - and we're a bit far away from each other unless you were planning to drive south for some reason lol.

I bought my Brother 1500 and Janome 1600 (basically the same machine with 9" throats) for $400 each. You CAN find great deals. Keep your ear to the ground, let all of your quilting friends, local shops, guild, etc know that you are in the market. Both my machines were purchased from quilters who were upgrading.

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.