Quilt Machine / Quilt - Embroidery Machine / Longarm Machine???
 

I do not know if this is the correct category to post this in, but I wanted to ask opinions. I have a Brother XR1355 Sewing Quilting machine. It is not the lowest end machine, but definitely not the most high end either. My husband suggested that I consider a new machine and told me to research. Of course, my research, up to date, has been with dealers. I quickly found they will boast of their own highest price machine. I used to do quilting years ago, but then life stepped in and I had to go back to school and work to raise my three girls on my own. Now, 20 years later, I am coming back to quilting and purchased a Brother machine and it has been great as far as sewing clothes, bedding, etc. I am not sure that it is the best for quilting as it does not have a large throat nor does it have hoops, etc. I have since looked at Brother Sewing Embroidery machines, as well as Baby lock. I went to a quilt show yesterday and a women mentioned that I should definitely check out Jenome and look into long arms. My mission for the next year or so, is to make family quilts which will essentially be raw edge applique blocks with quilting finishing for family members. They will end up being fairly large.

Anyone have any thoughts on the right type of machine or what is overkill or ??? Opinions and advice would be greatly welcomed! Thanks :)

It depends on what kinds of things you want to do in addition to quilting. Do you want to do decorative stitching, embroidery? If so, you do not want a long arm since those are straight stitch only. You do not need to have a long arm to quilt large quilts. Before I bought my PQ1500s (9" harp space, straight stitch only) I quilted double and queen sized quilts on my two smaller domestic machines (7" harp space). If you are planning on Free Motion Quilting, or using your walking foot to quilt, then you don't need hoops to machine quilt.

In addition to thinking about whether you want a machine that does more than straight stitch, you need to think about budget. There are domestic machines on the market now that do lots of decorative stitches and have anywhere from a 9" to 12" harp space. These start at around $1500 and go on up from there. To get one that also has embroidery features you will be looking at more expensive machines.

A straight stitch only machine with a 9" throat will run from $600 to $1200 or so depending on the manufacturer.

Two features that I like to have when I'm FMQing are needle down and either a good responsive foot pedal that allows me to easily control speed or a speed control on the machine itself.



Rob

I would advise you to quilt for a while with the machine you have before deciding to buy something else. I bought a Bernina with the embroidery module soon after I started quilting. I was just sure that I would want to do embroidery, but I developed no interest in it whatsoever. (I do love the Bernina for piecing, though.) On the other hand, after quilting several large quilts (in sections mostly) on my domestic machine, I decided that I did want a longarm, and never regretted that purchase. Your quilting journey might take you in a completely different direction.

From experience, you will soon tire of converting a machine from embroidery to sewing and back again. You will be much happier with separate units to do that.

That depends on the machine you have. I have the top-of-the-line Baby Lock... The Destiny. Takes less that 30 seconds to add or remove the embroidery arm. I also have the Baby Lock Adventura. Again, very easy machine to convert from sewing to embroidery.
Now, if the poster would be embroidering and sewing at the same time, then separate machines would be the way to go. I have the Baby Lock 10 needle embroidery-only machine. I can set up to embroider, push the "go" button and then step over to the sewing machine and work there.
Toys...got to have them all, lol.

A lot depends on what you find you really enjoy. When doing the raw edge applique are you using free-motion techniques? If so, then your current machine can handle that.

The question becomes how you want to quilt. If you are okay with quilt-as-you-go techniques, your current machine can handle that as long as you do the final step by hand. Are you looking at embroidery machines with the idea that they will be used for quilting? If so, that is one of the least exciting directions in which to go, at least for most quilters.

If you want to quilt your large quilts yourself, then usually the first thing you need to determine is whether you want to quilt sitting down (moving the quilt under the machine) or standing up (moving the machine while the quilt remains stationary on a frame). People usually develop a preference for one or the other, and that preference determines the type of midarm or longarm machine they want.

If you prefer quilting sitting down, your choices become a domestic machine with a larger harp than you are accustomed to (the harp is the area under the machine arm). A standard harp is about 8 inches, I think. Nowadays there are domestic machines with harps of 11 inches. This makes moving a large quilt around and fitting the bulk under the arm of the machine much easier. You can also look at dedicated sitdown quilting machines. These are usually midarms (about 16" of harp) that do not have feed dogs (so cannot be used for piecing, although they would work fine for free-motion applique). The Sweet Sixteen is one of the most popular, but there are others.

On the other hand, you may prefer to quilt standing up at a frame, moving the machine. This is what I enjoy! My dream machine in this category would be an Innova with lightning stitch.

The rule-of-thumb is to give yourself at least a year to research quilting setups before purchasing. Your budget may rule out a number of options too. Try to attend as many large quilt shows as you can, and visit as many dealers as you can, to try out different setups.

Also, research quilt guilds near you and join any that are convenient. You may get invited into homes to try out different setups.

I have done several raw edge applique block quilts. I had an older, excellent straight stitch machine that was great for piecing, but did not have a blanket stitch for the raw edge applique, so I purchased a machine with a blanket stitch. I decided that I wouldn't be doing enough quilts to justify the cost of a machine to do the quilting and I felt the learning curve was pretty steep to do it well, so I am sending the quilts out to be quilted. Sometimes I wish I had purchased a machine with a large throat that could also do blanket stitch. Then again I don't think I will be doing many more quilts because of my husband's health issues, so maybe I made the right choice. Take a little time to analyze your situation, keeping in mind we don't have a crystal ball to tell us the future.

I gave a Juki which is the machine I use most for piecing and quilting also has some decorative stitches. I have a Husqvarna Ruby Royale, two seconds to remove embroidery unit and change from embroidery to sewing, I prefer the Ruby for garment sewing. Decide what suits you best and what you will use, if you are getting back into sewing might be as well to get something that does a bit more than you think you'll need as once you get into it you'll probably find you want more functions on a machine.

Sewing/piecing....quilting....embroidery.....all 3? You must have a lot of time and patience to do and learn all three. It sounds like you need at least two new machines if not three. For me, pick two. Long arm qypuilting is not one of them. ;). I am happy with my combo machine. (janome 9900). I rarely have time to do embroidery but I still work full time. It will be fun to follow this thread.

sandy

Very sage advice given above.....great that dh is encouraging and promoting your desire to renew your quilting bug....but do take it easy and slow in your purchases.......these "toys" of ours can be quite expensive and if not chosen wisely do not make good doorstoppers!

Wise! Just ask my serger! Lol!

Sandy

I never really wanted to get an embroidery machine because the use a lot of thread. I am still delighted with my older Bernina 1530. Doesn't bother me that it has a smaller throat because if you have support for you quilt behind the machine and to your left, you won't be struggling, at least I never did. Have fun shopping.

its essentially a choice. people do great work on small inexpensive machines. Newer models offer nice improved features. Are they needed, no. Are they nice yes. I can tell you I love my expensive brother. It is truly made for quilting, there are quite a few models in the line. I own the highest model in the v-series line. I love the quilting features, the embroidery features. You can also buy a small frame to quilt on only 5 feet wide and can quilt all size quilts. I want to invest in the frame first and then invest in putting a machine on it that is not my main machine but will probably put my main machine on it for a few years. Some of the features on the v-series brother/babylocks that I like are large harp, sew straight laser penpal for position embroidery as well as 4 other sewing features the pen does, the dual feed is awesome it really sews everything awesome form thick layers to delicate fabric to difficult fabrics. It really has made me not eye the built in dual feeds anymore as it is very powerful and has its own motor and now with all the attachments it has quickly become my favorite foot for piecing and straightline quilting, as well as general sewing. It to me is now the best dual feed. I don't even use my walking foot anymore

I think it depends on the person. I don't mind my combo machine at all. I can sew with my unit on as well. which I do all the time unless I am FMQ with it dropped in the table. It really also depends on how often you embroider. To me its another hobby i do so I will often either be embroidering for a while or sewing for a while dependent on the projects I have going on. I tend to focus on one at a time so that is not a huge issue

I don't want to weigh in on the "what you want to sew" discussion, but I would advise that you make sure you have the dealer close and that you like that store enough to go back for service and/or have service issues. You won't want to drive a long distance with problems or small issues. You want excellent customer service.

I have two straight stitch only machine that I use all the time. They have 9" throats. I mainly do straight stitching and FMQ. I no longer sew clothing, maybe curtains occasionally. I have four other machines that do more stitches. I don't use them.

Both of my Berninas have embroidery capabilities. Thought I need one to back up the other. I love both machines and use them often but never both at one time and rarely do I use the embroidery feature. As others have suggested, get started w/quilting, etc and then decide your needs. One of the Berninas has a large harp and it is wonderful when FMQ larger projects.

And don't forget to check good/great used machines. One of my Berninas had only 200 hours of use. The former owner traded up and I lucked into getting a great used machine at a much lower price. Yes, it was covered by warranty and service.

You didn't say the ages of your daughters, but having an extra machine in the house will come in handy for them or grandchildren.

Keep your machines simple. The less complicated, the less there is to go wrong. I prefer separate simple machines to avoid costly set up times, but I have the space. The only machine, I found was a mistake, was the embroidery, I just never thought it was "fun" so I gave it to my daughter. The last machine to consider is the long arm. go to guilds, go to shows, talk and try things. but keep it simple. good luck

I am a big fan of "single purpose" machines. Of course any regular domestic sewing machine will quilt, and I've quilted many queen and king size quilts on my Pfaff, Brother, and Singer treadle dsms. I love to embroider, and I have a Brother embroidery machine, not horribly expensive. I also love to free motion quilt, so I splurged and bought a sit-down quilting machine, Babylock Tiara. I would have a long arm on a frame if I had room for it. I enjoy all my toys and would replace any or all of them if necessary, but I could only afford to replace them one at a time. I would not buy a sewing/embroidery combination machine to be my only machine as they are too expensive. Also, if the machine required repair/replacement I would be without both while it was in the shop. Then what would I do? While my single use embroidery machine was in the shop (3 weeks) I was still able to piece tops and to quilt. I can't imagine not being able to sew at all while my multi-purpose machine was in the shop. But then I go into withdrawals any time I go a day without sewing.

I love my Janome 8900 that I bought after going through a Viking Designer 1 (thought I would do embroidery - didn't) and a Pfaff 2056. I love my Janome. It has an 11" throat and I do large quilts, which is helpful since I do machine binding. It also has enough stitches to do any embellishing that I want. I like embroidery, but have no desire to have an embroidery machine.

I had a serger, but found it too complicated for me. I would consider buying one now, since there are some good improvements, such as self threading.

I am lucky enough to have been able to buy my longarm. That said, I don't quilt for others, just charity and myself.

As others have said, a good dealer is important. I actually bought my machine from a dealer an 1 - 1/2 hour away, because the dealer near me was not very good.

I have the Brother Dream machine and a 2002D from 2001, both are easy & simple & fast to convert from sewing to embroidery & vice versa, I think all the Babylocks & Brothers are easy. And, yes I do agree it is convenient to have an extra machine set up for sewing when you are doing a lot of embroidery.
I suggest buying the most machine you can afford, you will grow into the extra features, when it comes to sewing machines I don't think you can "overkill" LOL

Rob,
Thank you for thoughts. I hadnt thought about some of those points.
I have heard so much about different machines, especially from vendors (of course :confused:). Babylock people love babylock, brother people brother, jenome people love jenome, etc.etc.etc. I just do not want to make grave (and expensive mistakes).
Shannon

Hi there !
THAT is EXACTLY what I had been contemplating. Of course, I am not one of those people who impulse buy but instead, I drive myself crazy trying to make sure I am doing the correct thing (and with the right machine or whatever it is I am buying), especially when the sewing / embroidery machines cost so much money. Then, on top of that, some of the brands had great deals and financing. Of course, It was more than my first car cost and I thought I must be insane. HA!

Thank you so much for response! Your advice is great appreciated :)

Shannon

What machine do you have? I have heard that it only takes a few seconds to add on the attachment for the embroidery, but my main concern was the expense and if I would even use it. Your advice, however; is one that some ladies from the quilt show told me because they like to do 2+ projects at a time. I dont think I am at that level yet so I could use that for a reasoning as to if I should do it or not. :)

I looked at the Destiny. It is quite beautiful. I was introduced to the Brother Dream Machine. I then started shopping around. I was amazed at all the "stuff". Toys! haha! Sounds like my husband with all of his tools, gadgets and other stuff. I have not done the things that I wanted because the kids needed this, or we had to do that... Now into my second marriage, kids are grown and gone and I still have that same mindset. Guess I need to get out of that! :thumbup:

When I bought my embroidery machine I was not looking for one. In fact, I had always told myself that it wasn't fiscally reasonable. As other have said there was always something else we needed more. But I had an inheritance and was paying off the house, buying things my DH wanted, paid off student loans for my DDs and I went into my local Viking dealer and there it was. I have had SO MUCH FUN with it. Mine is a an embroidery/sewing machine, but I keep it in embroidery mode since I have a wonderful sewing machine, so it is my back-up if needed.

The only thing I recommend is going through a good dealer that will support you and your machine. Lessons are great - I am not great at reading the instructions cold. For me it was better for them to show me, teach me what it does, then I can use the book at home to play more.