I own one and love it for the fact, I can't get my machine threaded easily - the autothreader does not work, and my eyesight is another problem - and I even bought the needle threader - but if you can't see the hole in the needle, what good is the needle threader? :))

That said, I can set the bobbin winder to winding extra bobbins, while I sew - I have extra thread to do this with, and no need to stop sewing and will have my extra bobbin ready to go when I'm ready to put it in...

That is only my side of the story - but I do like it.

Amen, to that. To me it's so much easier then stopping the machine to thread a bobbin. I do three before I start sewing and know I have enough, usually. One of the best gadgets I've ever bought.

I thought it was a "must have" item. Bought it, tried it, took it back the same day. My Pfaff 2170 bobbin winder was giving me fits that day ... after all that I found out it was "operator error" on the Pfaff. I now wind and keep several bobbins of quilting thread full. Savings: $25 Gas to get to Hancock's back and forth: $10. :)

neat, i got one for a christmas present, have not tried it yet, will have to dig it out.

I get regular posts from Sew We Quilts and she had a guest blogger that talked about the notions she has bought over the years and the side winder was at the top of her list. She said that it is loud, uses batteries and is pretty much a waste of money. I've thought about it, but really would rather spend my money on fabric or thread.

I have one and haven't used it , it was a gift

Just a couple of clarifications on this discussion:

The older model Sidewinders would not take certain Viking and Bernina bobbins.

The later models do pretty much all of them. This is explained on the box, so if you go to buy one, make sure you're getting a model that'll work with your machine's bobbins.

Later ones also have a 110 adapter, so you can use it with wall current and don't have to use batteries.

I love mine because I, too,, have to unthread my machine to wind a bobbin. If I'm in the middle of quilting and I know the bobbin is getting low, I can fill a new bobbin and have it ready when the other one runs out.

i have a side winder,,i use it to wind bobbins for my quilting machine,,,my husband, who is a retired sewing machine mechanic,,,says if you run the machine fast to wind a bobbin the heat could damage the hook,so i don't run bobbins on my machine unless i am sewing

I got one for Christmas, best thing I received. I love that I don't have to take the time to unthread, wind, rethread, it takes too much time! You will love it! and yest that is all it does!