I have a Brother SE-400 which I love but the throat is only 5 1/2 inches and way too small to fit a queen size quilt through. I looked at several machines this weekend, i.e., Viking, Bernina, Pfaff and they are all so expensive. What I would really like is the Topaz 20 as it does both sewing and embroidery. Can any of you experienced quilters offer any suggestions or advice. Which machine do you like best? Thanks for your help!



Blessings :) :)

This question is like asking 10 blind men to describe the elephant or the song in the musical "Finninians Rainbow" with the line "when I'm not near the girl I love, I love the girl I'm near." You just have to decide what you want in a machine and then go look at as many as you can. My favorite is not necessarily the favorite of the next. I would never recommend one over another.

Sorry if you found my question offensive.

I asked basically the same question a while back, and I got a different answer from everyone!! It seems that everyone has their favorite, and unfortunately that does not help alot, when your trying to figure out which one you want. I am still trying to decide.

One suggestion, which it seems you have done was to visit each retail store and try them out. Take along types of material you will be sewing with, so you can test them out.

Tomorrow early I am heading out to test the Juki, and Janome and Elna. I thought I had it narrowed down to just 3, but I found the Elna makes one as well. However the top of my list is the Pfaff, so far. Hoping it will come down in price next week at our local retailer as they will be having Christmas in July the last few days of the month.

It is very confusing but you need to get the one that is right for you. Good luck !!

Here is a link to my thread on machines if you would like to read it. Hopefully it will help some.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-133994-1.htm

I have the Viking mega quilter and it does a great job. Mine is a 9'in throat so I have alot of room to move with. I just ordered a walking foot; don't know why Viking doesn't include one since it's a quilter but it is what it is. I have also been interested in Janome; I have a Kenmore/Janome from Sears and it does a great job quilting except it doesn't like to go over bumps. I bought the Viking #1 because I couldn't afford the newer ones and I want to try machine embroidery; it's in the shop right now but getting excited about getting it out soon. Make sure what ever you get you get a walking foot; can't believe the difference it makes since I don't know how to free motion; YET

You might consider a vintage machine. I picked up a free Singer 201 which is a powerful machine, has a large harp and feeddogs that drop. It cost me $70 to have it re-wired (always check out the wiring before plugging in old machines) $20 for a walking foot and $10 for a free motion/darning food. For $100 I have a machine that quilts better than my Janome 6500, has just as large a harp and doesn't growl, veer off seam junctions, or break thread when I quilt.

I have made a list of all the things I want a machine to do, what I want to pay for it, and then went researching. As I found a machine that I liked, I went down the list and checked off what it had I wanted. If it didn't and was a function I couldn't live without I went to the next machine. I got down to two Brother machines, one way more expensive than the other but the more expensive had everything I want so I am now saving more. Since I want this to be an investment in myself, I don't want to settle. Try something like that so you can find just the perfect machine.

I use a Bernina 930 that is almost 30 years old. I quilt king on down on it. I just ROLL the quilt. Have a table or something to hold the excess quilt to prevent the weight from pulling it too tight. I quilt them in "quarters" so that I only have half of the quilt in the throat area at a time.
D

oh here is another link to a similar question as yours, lots of replies to it as well.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-137771-1.htm