Question for Die Cutter Users
 

For strips, squares, rectangles -

For what you spent for the machine and dies - has it been worth the cost for you?

(I don't have a die cutter - so far it's been easy enough for me to do my cutting with a rotary cutter)

but just in case I might someday want/need one -

I have had my Go for several years, and no, it wasn't worth it for me. I hardly ever use it. I have different sizes of strip cutters, but I've never used them. I would just as soon use my June Taylor to cut strips.

Hi, I have the Accuquilt Go Big. I LOVE it! Worth every penny I spent on it. My sister and I share the cost. I bought the machine and she bought the dies. Although we live thousands of miles apart, I can still cut what she needs.

I have the Accuquilt Go. I've used the hexagon die many times for cutting my Grandmother's Flower Garden hexis.

I was in an unique situation. I had my die cutter (Accucut Grande Mark, which is identical to the Accuquilt Studio) for my paper business at least 15 years before I started quilting. I had 100s of dies, but they were all intricate dies for paper items. Stuff you wouldn't want to cut by hand. When I started quilting, I made my first few quilts using a rotary cutter. I mean, come on, I was just cutting straight lines. Why pay for a die? Well after struggling with getting seams to match, I realized my rotary cutting wasn't quite as accurate as I thought. I got a couple used dies on ebay and what a difference it made. I now have about a dozen quilting dies, mostly basic geometric shapes, but a couple for cutting curved blocks. My favorite is Winding Ways. I've made 5 of these quilts and can't imagine doing curved piecing without die cut shapes. I spend less time cutting than before, but the big thing for me is accuracy. I think my quilts go together quicker because I'm not struggling to get seams to match. I had lots of experience positioning stuff on the dies, so I don't have much waste. The bottom line is that yes, I really feel that the added expense was worth it and would have purchased a cutter for quilting if I had not already had one.

Love mine! Had the Go and my DH gave me the Go Big electric for Christmas! Have cut a lot of my scraps, lots of 5" squares, a few appliques(more to come with new dies), and tons of strips! Got the log cabin, multi-size strip and 2.5" strip dies and would like more sizes.

I mostly do strip quilting so I can see the cost be beneficial to me.

My Studio cutter has saved my body from pain and agony that I can actually sew! Yes it was worth it to me. I buy the geometric dies only as I am not an applique person. The cost is so worth it.:thumbup:

Worth every penny! I've cut a bazillion squares, strips and everything else for scrappies, swaps, family and friends.

I love my GO! It has amazing dies for HST and FG. I also use the strip ones all the time.

I have been wondering about a die cutter also. I can't use my left hand or wrist. I have to press down with my left forearm to use a ruler when rotary cutting. It hurts my back and shoulder.
My big question is should I get am electric one, they do seem to have their problems?

I have a GO and Sizzix big shot and I love them both......don't regret the purchases, or the continuing purchase of additional dies, one bit. Best thing since sewing machine! One day may splurge and get electric GO........

I also have both. I can't cut straight. The ruler doesn't slip, the fabric does. I wanted to cut a 1" strip from a 1 1/2 strip and wound up having to tape the strip down to cut it. Tired of the nonsense. I've tried just about everything else, and still can't get straight cuts. Looked at the June Tailor rulers and decided they were not for me. Started using an old Sizzix, and things went so much better.

I decided I wasn't cutting 49 LOF 1 1/2" strips for Jaybird's Night Sky!

My "signature" baby quilt is an I Spy production that uses 80 4 1/2" squares. While some fabrics can be cut into useful squares using 4 1/2" strips, many require fussy cutting, which I despise. Thinking a die-cutting machine would simplify things, I bought a bottom-of-the-line model when it was on sale for ~$75. When it arrived, I discovered that it could handle fabric no wider than about 6", so I had to rough-cut each piece before feeding it through the machine. It saved me no time at all and wasted even more fabric than fussy-cutting did. On top of which, it didn't cut cleanly. I had to scizzor-cut certain areas on almost every square. I buried that machine so deep that I can't find it to tell you what brand or model it is.

Bottom line: Know what you want your die cut machine to do, and choose accordingly. Clearly they handle some tasks much better than others!

Want to sell some of those strip dies? I would love to have them. I do like mine, but I just got a used one, so have no idea how much I will use it.

Over the summer I purchased the Sizzix Big Shot Pro. It is easier to crank then the Accuquilt Studio. It can handle all Sizzix dies, all Accuquilt Go dies and most of the Accuquilt studio dies. (some of the studio dies are too wide but those dies are also the ones I do not like because they are very large and heavy)
http://www.sizzix.com/shop/sizzixquilting

If you purchase http://www.sizzix.com/product/657600...d-accessoriesa Sizzix Big Shop Pro besure to get the quilter's edition.


Accuquilt now also has an electric die cutter twice as wide as their Accuquilt Go. I have heard nothing but good about this option also.

I am a ninja with my rotary blade and love rulers but due to back issues and starting to have osteoarthritis in my wrist I was having pain after cutting extensively.

I must say I really like a die cutter more then I had anticipated. I do not use the strip cutters as much as I thought I would and will frequently use the June Taylor shape cutter for that purpose. I do use the 1/2 square triangle, squares and flying geese shapes all the time to make blocks. I am pleased with the accuracy of the blocks I make from die cut shapes.

Sizzix dies tend to run significantly cheaper then Accuquilt dies. I was able to purchase many Sizzix dies and and some Accuquilt Studio dies because the Sizzix and the dies from Sizzix run cheaper. I do think it would not be as much fun if I didn't have all the dies.

I absolutely love my Studio cutter, particularly the strip dies. I have a few square dies, but prefer subcutting strips.

AccuQuilt Studio has several Clear Dies for fussy cutting, for those who enjoy fussy cutting blocks.

I have the electric go, it is worth it. I can cut a quilt perfectly strips/squares/ triangles or whatever and get the quilt sewn together so much faster. I also do lots of cutting for my guild and it helps a lot.

Today, I cut 540 (4" finished) HST's on my Go machine to make a navy blue and white herringbone quilt. I've already sewed 1/3 of them, in addition to sewing on the binding to 6 placemats, and finishing 6 blocks for another quilt. And, I read 1/3 of the book I started the other day. Not a bad day.

I could have never gotten this much accomplished without my Go. The HST's went together very nicely, in fact, I carefully sewed 1/4" seam, and it appears they came out so perfectly that I don't even have to square them.

You will love the accuracy of the cutting with a Go machine.

I love it, I used the drunkards path and the curves went together smoothly and perfectly, I doubt I could have cut each as accurately. I love the strip dies and also the Sunbonnet Sue and Sam dies and a couple of others. You can cut 8 layers at a time, with the 2 1/2 strip, you cut the strips faster and neater in the time it takes you to cut a couple manually.

I love the GO and yes, I feel it is well worth the cost.

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new Studio 2 coming tomorrow. The dies are coming on Friday. So I'm looking forward to a fun weekend of playing with my "mid life crisis" toy. Ha.
SVAL

I use my Go for 99% of my quilt block cutting. When the rotary cutter was first introduced many quilters thought it was unnecessary and a waste of money because blades had to be replaced. If you keep the machine put up and not use it or only have a couple of dies then it probably won't be worth the cost.

I use my Fiskar Fuse all the time, with Accuquilt Go! dies, and Sizzix dies. Sizzix dies are cheaper than Accuquilt dies, and I like their layout a little better.

I strip cut with my June Taylor thingy, although if I had the Accuquilt strip dies I'd use those instead. I use the Fuse for geometric shapes. I don't do applique shapes.

I think the dies make the piecing go ever so much faster. And the cutting a million times faster. I can die cut all the triangles and hexes for I Spy quilts in a few hours, versus the couple of weeks it took me to rotary cut them with a template.

The rotary cut ones were not consistent, and I spent waaay too much time aligning them when piecing, double checking that they were right, which they often weren't, and having to re-sew them a few times (each).

I can't say enough good about die cutting!

I love my Studio. I love cutting strips with it and I did cut a large quantity of tumblers to do Bonnie Hunter's leader and ender tumbler challenge.

Absolutely. I have the Accuquilt Studio. If I knew then what I know now, I would have simply bought all the strip dies and all the half square triangle dies and called it good. You can pretty much cut everything with those. I have a lot of repeat dies I don't need. Worth it? Absolutely. It takes forever to cut quilts by hand. It is done super fast with the die cutter.

No one has mentioned it because it is more specialty, but I have a Silhouette Cameo. It isn't as much for the strips and squares as it is for appliqué shapes, but it is computer controlled and you can cut any shape and any size (up to 12" x 24") as long as you have attached the fabric to some sort of interfacing to give it enough thickness for the blade to cut through. (NO DIES. You download shapes or design them yourself using the software that is included.) I have it because of paper crafting, but I have used it for making identical shapes for things like doll-eyes and appliqués for quilts (found an adorable baby-pin quilt and did NOT want to cut those out by hand...). I am planning some quilted wall art to look like my dogs, and I plan to use the machine to cut the shapes for the appliqués out with that. Would it be worth it to buy the machine for most quilters? It's $250, so no. But I have been using it for almost two years for paper crafting continually and have gotten more than my money out of it. The appliqué is just a new use I have found for it.

I hate pulling mine out to use, but I am ashamed to say that I still can't cut a straight line to save my life. If I am cutting anything over just a few inches, I use the Accuquilt because it's much more accurate than I am. So, it was a good investment through the years saving me from wasting fabric.

Good to know. I'm awaiting mine to come today. So I'll take your advice and start getting strip dies. I am waiting for a sale to get the 2.5 one for all the bindings.
I purchased the Churn Dash 9" and EB's block that was on sale at the time with the adapter plate. So I'm ready for any die, Studio or Go. Hope that's right.
SVAL

I am in Australia and I bought a Go Cutter and a starter pack of both strip and applique dies as soon as I found it was available here. I typed medical reports all day and then did a lot of cutting of scraps at night and I could tell my elbows were not going to put up with that for much longer. I demoed it at my local sewing group and a few of them went in together to purchase a Go and a lot of dies. I can use any of their dies in exchange for their members using mine (at the group) and this has worked well. I don't get asked to borrow my dies very often.

I have the Go and use it all the time. I actually think I have to replace one of my strip dies because I have worn it out!! Well worth the money in my book!

I have a GO and my 2 1/2 strip die buckled. I contacted the company and they would not replace it. I did not have it very long and had only used it a couple of times. For the price I would not buy a Go again.

If all you do it strips...then u may not want/need the accuquilt system.
But I love mine...have all kinds of dies but then you have to remember if you do lots of appliqué that those have to be sewed down before you can quilt over them. I think my cost of them has been worth it compared to time, accuracy involved in it.

I have the Sizzix Bigshot and love love love it!! I can't cut a straight line no matter how careful I am with the ruler and rotary cutter. I have strip dies that can be used not only to make strips but also to make squares and diamonds just by placing the fabric once cut into strips at various angles. I also have some appliqué dies, square and triangle ones too. I love it and for me it was well worth the expense as I am not wasting fabric with all my miscut.

I love my Go. I only have a few dies. My favorites are the strip cutters which you can also cut squares or diamonds with. Then I also bought the Drunkards Path die and the hexie die. I couldn't imagine cutting and matching all those curves without it.

I have a die cutting system made by Sizzix and use the Fabi dies.Was worth every penny to me. I have arthritis and a torn rotary cuff and I can still cut out my quilting pieces in spite of my handicap.It took me about a year to get my collection of the dies ,I only bought them when they were on sale and used my 40% off coupons @ Hobby Lobby. It cuts a layer of 8 at a time and very accurate.

I bought 3 large black trash bags full of scrap fabric with each piece larger than 5" at a yard sale. So the die cutters work for my scraps. However, I do not use them for my regular fabric. I have the June Taylor in two sizes and I love them. I find that there is a great deal of waste and pieces of fabric that are not the size I wanted. I guess I put them in the GO wrong and they come out 1/4" too small, still ok to use, but not in the project I wanted. The mats wear out on the GO and you do have to keep buying them for the dies that you use the most. I just bought a die that will be very easy to use with my charm squares and I think specialty dies work great. I think it has to do more with the types of quilts you use, how accurately you cut with a rotary cutter, your physical health and whether you mind the waste of fabric. You still have to cut fabric to fit it in the GO.

My daughter and I share an AccuCut Grande Mark, and we love it. She paper crafts and I sew. I have tried all the tips and gides for cutting straight, but nothing comes near my die cutter. It has more than paid for itself.

I have a Baby Go and its OK but the dies are so expensive. I'm thinking of buying the Brother ScanNCut. Anything you can scan it will cut. No dies to buy. comes with nearly a thousand designs built -in including over 100 quilt blocks. Even draws the stitching lines on the pieces. Do any of you have one and if so which model and how do you like it?

I now have the electric GO Big. I had the GO for years. I didn't have any problems with the GO. I just decided I needed (wanted) the electric one. I have never regretted buying my GOs. My cutting time is so much faster and the accurate cuts make the sewing so much easier and faster, too. I think the strip dies are the "bread and butter" dies. You can cut strips, squares and diamonds with them. I also like cutting my binding strips with usually just one pass through my GO Big. The Winding Ways and the Hunter's Star dies are literally to die for if you want to make these quilts.