I love, love, love my HandiQuilter Sweet 16. A couple pieces of advice I will offer is 1. Service, service, service. Find a local shop (or as local as possible) and check their customer service rating with the company. 2. Remember that some companies makes different brands. Each Brand then sets their own specifications. For instance, HandiQuilter makes the Baby Lock sit down machine. So, 3. visit a show and sit down to every machine available and ask the differences and the manufacturer. It made a difference for me to even try sit down machines I was sure I didn't want. Good luck and quilt on.....

Macy ... Juki does make a big machine ... 18" long and 10" high (harp space). It's the TL2200QVP-S (S for sit down, without the S is the machine for the frame, same machine but different controller).

Fallon

I just bought the Juki Saturday and have spent the last 5 days playing with it. At the moment I'm marking a quilt to put under it this weekend!!

Yes, it does have a thread cutter and you can program it to cut immediately, after 1 locking stitch, 2 locking stitches, or three locking stitches. You can also cut it with your foot pedal at the heel position (as opposed to making it go with the toe position). I may/may not use this feature depending on the quilt I am working on. If it's a quilt to be used/washed I prefer to bury the threads. If it's a wall hanging and will not have much handling/washing I may use a 3X locking stitch then cut.

As for the bobbin ... I wouldn't say it's easy to load, I have to admit I struggle with it a bit. The bobbin sits a good 3" from the opening of the machine, and a good 4" from the end of the table. I'm SURE I will get used to it though, and the good news is that with a class M bobbin I won't have to change it that often!!

The Bernina Q20 sit down quilter is the only one I know of that has an automatic threader, but it's priced around $13K. It also has a stitch regulator which the Juki does not (the Sweet 16 does but you have to pay more and it's a weird disk thing that has to ride around under your quilt - I found it annoying).

I too went to a large show and tried several sit down machines: Juki, Sweet 16, Tiara, Innova, George, and a few others I can't remember. I then made a spread sheet with features and prices and studied it for a long time. The three machines at the top of my list - for different reasons - were the Sweet 16, George, and Juki. In the end, it was a spur of the moment decision based on two factors ... my LQS deals the machine so the support/service were close at hand (important to me!!), and when I was in the shop the owner made me an offer I couldn't refuse while my husband was standing next to me ... presto bango ... I have a machine!!

I do like it, but I can't stress enough that you have the right plan to try each of the machines on your list to see if they "feel" right to you. Once you have a list of machines that feel good, narrow it down with price and local service as additional factors to consider.

Happy hunting!!

Doghousemom- I had seen that machine on a frame, did not know it came "sit down" also. My husband liked the looks of it, but didn't care for it after trying it out. It may be better on a table though as he didn't like a noticeable vibration in the handles at a low-medium speed. He has a damaged hand and is very sensitive to vibrations like that were others may not be. And if you used the computer part, you would not be holding on to the handles.

He's also tried the Bernina and was not overly impressed with it - especially for the price. And he's tried the Viking and Pfaff sit down machines (those two are about the same). If I'm in a LQS looking at fabric and they have a machine set up, he's going to try it.

Macy ... I think it's fairly new.

BTW ... Fallon ... here is a video link of a review of the Juki machine by Leah Day. She's using this machine now. I found the video after I came home with it :) She mentions that she had to play with the foot to keep it from hopping. I *assume* that they've made changes to the machine since she got hers as the "hop" on mine is so minimal I can only see it when I don't have a quilt under the needle. It might be 1/16" of an inch tops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjVnUR11Nqk

neither of my jukis has disappointed me

I have the Tiara made by Babylock and it is identical to the Sweet 16. I love it and have quilted several hundred charity quilts on it. I agree with the others, try several machines. Another thing that helps is having a dealer near you who can help you and also adjust your machine when necessary.

You are so very helpful---thanks so much
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Wow so helpful. What did you think of the table that came with it.?? My e-mail address is [email protected] I would love to hear how your next quilt goes. Thanks again for your input. <script type="text/javascript" src="safari-extension://com.ebay.safari.myebaymanager-QYHMMGCMJR/975df655/background/helpers/prefilterHelper.js"></script>

I want to thank you all for the input here. I will be purchasing a Stand Up machine in the near future, and I have really been enthralled by the Innova, but now I think I should do more shopping around. Thanx again, and Good Luck Fallonquilter

Some sit downs don't have feed dogs or feet for the needle so that it is easy to get a finger under the needle. Will the fabric move nicely over the table? Is where the the machine sits in the table in the direction you want it to...is it on the end, or the middle of a side? Where does the extra fabric lay while you are quilting? Is there a shop nearby that can give you some support? Does the manual have clear instructions?