New Sewing machine; Wow!
 

If you are in the market for a new machine, I sure do have a recommendation. First I am in no way connected to the Brother company either in marketing or manufacturing. I have sewn on a lower end Janome for years. That includes piecing and quilting. It has been a good machine and I have no complaints. I decided to buy a Brother PQ1500S (quilters machine) off of EBay for just under $600 because it had a larger harp, not because I felt I needed a new machine. The PQ1500 does not have any fancy stitches but wow does it sew like a dream. It weighs more than my old machine and sews over seams and intersections without any pause. I never realized I was fighting my old machine but this machine is a dream. I hope this doesn't sound like an advertisement but I am so excited I had to share.

Congratulations, you sound very happy with your purchase.. I've heard good things about that Brother

You don't sound like an ad...you are excited and want to share your experience with us. That's one of the things the QB is about. Your posting will help someone else make a good decision!

Enjoy your machine! I have 2 Brothers - SE270D combo and PE700II embr. only and love both of them!!

I agree with you - I have 6 machines and my 1500 is my "daily driver" - and my favorite! I've sewed through as much as 8 layers of fabric without any problems.

Awesome glad you lover your new machine I felt that way when I upgraded from my old singer I had had for years to my Viking - Brother makes a good machine enjoy your new work horse!

So glad you shared! I have been researching sewing machines myself - and want another one for the bigger harp space. I had just come to the conclusion earlier this week that I wanted to go with a straight stitch machine - and my choice was going to be the Brother PQ1500s. Your post helps confirm my decision. I am excitedly looking forward to getting mine (hoping to order next month). Happy sewing to you! :o

I sewed on a Brother at an open house at a local shop and wow, it sewed beautifully. I have a Janome 9000.

It's always good to have personal testimonies on machines. Thanks for sharing and I am glad you like yours so well.

I LOVE my Brother machines. Had one for about 25 years and it has never giving me a bit of problems. Last year bought a Brother Duetta 4500D and absolutely love it too. Sews beautiful and embroidery is great!!! They are both real work horses...no matter what I feed them, they work great! I love my Brothers!
So glad to hear you are happy with your new machine. You WILL get many happy years of sewing on it!!! ENJOY!!!!

I love my Brother 1500, I had have it for about 10 years and it is still going strong. Before purchaseing my HQ16 I used it for all my FMQ, now it is used mostly for attaching bindings. It does it the best out of 3 I have used for binding.

Having a machine that really sews is awesome and worth sharing for sure.

Congrats on your new machine! Hope it gives you many happy years :-)

That's the machine I plan on getting in the next week. I can't afford to send out my tops to be done and my other machines just don't have the harp space. I'm not interested in the fancy stitches and don't use them on my other machines anyway. So glad you are happy with your purchase. Helps others who are trying to decide which one to get.

This one is being sold online now for $599. That's a great price. The other straight-stitchers are between $800-$1100 and they're essentially the same thing without the pin-feed. You can also buy a felting attachment for the Brother which is a kind of nice bonus if you think you'd ever want to try that. The motor amps at 1.5 means you have plenty of power. most of the computerized new machines many of us use are .65 amps and while that's not the whole story concerning piercing power, the 1 amp motors do tend to plow through layers MUCH better. Enjoy!

I have this machine and I love love love it, it is so fast too if you have it on full speed ahead, doesn't baulk at anything you give it, cuts sewing time by half. I have it set up with my grace long bed and QBOT tho I am still a bit nervous about the QBOT I am trying out freehand at the moment.
Congrats on your new machine,

WOW!! That is awesome!! Thanks for sharing. I am still doing all my piecing on my Viking 60 20 which my parents gave me when I was 15. That was 40 years ago!!

Congratulations!! I'm very happy for you! I've loved all my Brother machines too! They make a great machine!! Now I'm trying to save up for the Innov-is NX2000. That sounds like it does about anything I could possibly ever want. It's a long way off, but I'll get there eventually! :-) There are a few different machines I want to try out before I I finalize the sale, but that one's top on my list.

I forgot to ask anyone who owns this machine. Is it picky about thread?

Thanks

That is awesome!! So glad that you shared and are happy with your new purchase!!!

I am happy for you and your new machine! And Becky Crafts--I have the Brother Innov-is NX2000 and LOVE it. Let me know if you have any questions. I also have a Janome 6600P and love it too. But there are a few more things on the Brother that make it my "go to" machine now.

Kathleen

I've had this machine for about a year. I am in love. There has been a learning curve, there is so much it can do you can't learn it all except by trying. The only thing it doesn't have that I think I'd like is a built in differential feed. Otherwise, all it's features are wonderful.

Litacats: Was I right in reading that you have the 1500 on a Grace frame? Does this mean that this machine will accommodate a carriage and guiding arms just like the big girls use?
Dingle: Hope someone else can help you with the thread question, I just haven't had enough history with the machine yet to know. I am still just piecing not quilting.

Becky Crafts and Prov31- I have the Brother Innovis NX 2000 as well. I love that machine and am so glad to hear you like yours. I love sewing on it.

I have had my 1500s for 14 months. The first time I used it, my thought was 'smooth'. I now use it on a Gracy II frame. It is smoother off the frame but with some adjustments I can get it to move quite smooth on the frame as well. The thread does break more than it should, so I have a bit more tweeking to do. -- The frame will accommodate this machine. My frame is good for a machine with up to a 16 or 17" throat. I also use a stitch regulator/speed control with it. I have been watching for another machine to dedicate to FMQ on a table so I can move the quilt instead of the machine. I did find one and passed the offer to my sister. She got the machine and frame for 400.00. Original asking price was 1000.00.

Glad you are having a great time with your new toy! Show u's what you made with her!!

I totally agree! I love mine, too.

I've got one too and it is a great machine in my opinion. If you haven't got Brother in your area, I understand that Juki made the same machine for a number of companies and it is suited to the job as it is a semi industrial machine.

I like the pin feed on this machine as it virtually acts like an IDT and there is also a felting/embellishment attachment that you can buy for this machine which fits over the large bobbin area at the side.

I haven't had any problems with thread or otherwise on this machine. The telescopic spool holder is great too, as it helps with metallic threads I'm sure. I especially like the fact that it is not computerised.

Congratulations on your new machine.

I love my old Brother machine. I hope to upgrade some day. But, will wait until it "dies". So glad you are enjoying yours!!

Thank you for sharing! I've had my Brother PQ1500 Nouvelle for nearly 10 years and it has been on the go daily! It is wonderful for FMQ and piecing...the best I've ever tried. I also have an older Brother NX400 which is used for decorative stitches but will also FMQ when needed. Brother is the best! No, I don't work or am connected to the Brother company, either, but their machines are wonderful. You won't find either machine at Walmart although newer sewers might want to start with a less expensive machine.

The good thing about strait stitch machines is you can put them on a long arm table and connect a stitch regulator to them.
The bad thing is they have a complicated threading system and a under the machine bobbin. They are primitive compared to the computerized machines. But they are much better for piecing.
I have the Baby Lock Jane, which is a brother 1500, set up on a table. I also have a Viking Sapphire that wont sew over bumps but other wise I love.
They are so different from each other. It is nice to have both.

I just did the same thing....got the Brother1500 for Christmas and just love it. I especially got it to do free motion sewing and it is like sewing through butter, don't even know when it goes over a seam....

I have a fancy upscale machine but the harp was too small to accommodate large tops for quilting. I bought this same machine and it does sew extremely well. I found I love the thread cutter and now wish my upscale machine had one. I recently did a spiderweb paper piece project on it and I really loved how it all went. So it is a great addition to my sewing room. My only complaint was that the walking foot that came with it did not have a place to put a quilt guide. I solved this by getting a high shank Janome walking foot. High shank Janome feet seem to be interchangeable with Brother high shank feet. Problem solved, quilting now not a sew and shove pain in the neck. Those few extra inches does make a difference. Also the strong motor is very nice if you want to sew heavy fabrics....

Debbie: Thanks for the info re the Gracie frame. I was happy before, now I'm delighted. Clearly I bought more of a machine than I thought.

Glad you are so happy. Thanks for the information!

I've had mine for a couple of months and love it. Not picky at all for what I do. The only thing I don't like is the threader. I have a computerized Brother with a threader that is wonderful. I fight with this one every time, and usually just thread it myself.

Emma, Thanks for sharing about your new machine. I eventually want to get a second machine and love to hear what people are saying about their machines.

Great to get feedback, looking at new machines myself, thanks for sharing.