Quilting Machines?
01-02-2011, 07:57 AM
#21
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 493
Originally Posted by ckcowl
what machine are you sewing on now? i bet your own machine is every bit as good as that brother machine...just because they are putting 'quilting-machine' on the box doesn't mean it's going to stitch any better, it's just a gimmick to attract the market. unless a machine is a mid-arm or long-arm i would not waste money on a different machine for quilting unless i needed to replace my sewing machine. that is all the brother is,(and probably with alot less stitches than your machine)
it may come with an extension table for quilting but you can probably buy an extension table for your machine for alot less than $199.
it may come with an extension table for quilting but you can probably buy an extension table for your machine for alot less than $199.
Donna
01-02-2011, 08:14 AM
#22
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Howdy y'all :c)
Several people here have suggested that I go buy a used machine. Problem is, I already did that.....twice. When the word first started being spread that a quilting group would be started at work, I bought a Singer machine at a yard sale. I was REALLY excited about it and thought I had found a great deal! Unfortunately, once I got it home, I realized it had no bobbin, and with no owner's manual there was nothing to tell me what sized bobbin it used. I went to both of my sisters who have sewed for years, and even though both of them had several different bobbins they had picked up over the years, neither one had one that would work with it. No one seemed to be able to tell me what to buy for it. So I bought yet another used one from Craigslist and when I got it to the quilting group's first meeting, the thread bunched up on it so bad when I sewed with it that it was pretty much unusable. It was also so old that even the most experienced seamstresses in our group knew nothing about the machine or how to solve the problem. This was also a Singer, by the way. So I ended up going and buying a new one from Wal-Mart.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that even though I know how to use my own machine and have learned how to troubleshoot it, I don't feel like I have enough experience to buy something used and not get a lemon. I was hoping someone here had some experience with this machine, or could tell me if I should even be thinking of undertaking doing my own quilting at this stage of my experience. I sure do appreciate the responses I've gotten so far! Please keep them coming! You guys are GREAT! :c)
Donna
Several people here have suggested that I go buy a used machine. Problem is, I already did that.....twice. When the word first started being spread that a quilting group would be started at work, I bought a Singer machine at a yard sale. I was REALLY excited about it and thought I had found a great deal! Unfortunately, once I got it home, I realized it had no bobbin, and with no owner's manual there was nothing to tell me what sized bobbin it used. I went to both of my sisters who have sewed for years, and even though both of them had several different bobbins they had picked up over the years, neither one had one that would work with it. No one seemed to be able to tell me what to buy for it. So I bought yet another used one from Craigslist and when I got it to the quilting group's first meeting, the thread bunched up on it so bad when I sewed with it that it was pretty much unusable. It was also so old that even the most experienced seamstresses in our group knew nothing about the machine or how to solve the problem. This was also a Singer, by the way. So I ended up going and buying a new one from Wal-Mart.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that even though I know how to use my own machine and have learned how to troubleshoot it, I don't feel like I have enough experience to buy something used and not get a lemon. I was hoping someone here had some experience with this machine, or could tell me if I should even be thinking of undertaking doing my own quilting at this stage of my experience. I sure do appreciate the responses I've gotten so far! Please keep them coming! You guys are GREAT! :c)
Donna
01-02-2011, 08:16 AM
#23
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Behind my sewing machine
Posts: 7,202
My DH bought me the Horizon...it was 2,400 which is a lot but my husband is the one who said that it would pay for its self if I did not have to pay someone to quilt my quilts for me so he bought me one...this can do a King size quilt I am doing a queen size one now and half done in one hour...very easy and fits in without rolling it. I am loving!!! it...
Thanks for your reply! I also have a Brother sewing machine, Model number LX-3125 that I bought at Wal-Mart for $79.99. I bought it on the advice of one of the teachers/leaders in our quilting group at work who said she has had the very same model for years and has never had a problem with it that a good cleaning and oiling wouldn't fix. So far I've done all of my quilts, the dog bed, and 9 pincushions on it. I've quilted all of the fat quarter quilts on it. Even the lap quilts can be a pain, but the twin sized one I did was a bear! The one I'm looking at has a long throat and has 22 different quilting stitches, plus free motion quilting.
I'd like to make some bigger quilts than I already have, and I know some of the women in the quilting group I'm in have paid $50.00 to have a twin sized quilt quilted by someone else. Anything bigger and the price just goes up. If I just quilted 4 quilts on it, it will have paid for itself in my opinion. But if that's something this machine can't do, I don't want to invest the money. I don't want to invest it either if it's something I might not be ready to do at my level. Y'know? ;-)
Donna
Originally Posted by DonnaFreak
Originally Posted by cjomomma
First off I love the brother machines. I have 2 of them. I quilt on both and both have a 6in. throat, quilting anything bigger then a lap quilt is a major pain. You might want to check around for machines that have a longer throat. Now having said that how big of a throat does it have??
I'd like to make some bigger quilts than I already have, and I know some of the women in the quilting group I'm in have paid $50.00 to have a twin sized quilt quilted by someone else. Anything bigger and the price just goes up. If I just quilted 4 quilts on it, it will have paid for itself in my opinion. But if that's something this machine can't do, I don't want to invest the money. I don't want to invest it either if it's something I might not be ready to do at my level. Y'know? ;-)
Donna
01-02-2011, 08:19 AM
#25
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Kentucky
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Originally Posted by Yarn or Fabric
If you are looking for a quilting machine, I would suggest saving up a little more or looking for at least a 9" harped machine. You will be trading one 6" for another 6".
From what I have seen, the "quilting machines" sold just include some extra feet for quilting and whatnot. You are really going to want more neck room for maneuvering quilts. You might score one on Craigslist or from a dealer used as a trade in :)
From what I have seen, the "quilting machines" sold just include some extra feet for quilting and whatnot. You are really going to want more neck room for maneuvering quilts. You might score one on Craigslist or from a dealer used as a trade in :)
Could you please explain the first part of your reply to me? what is a "harped machine"? Is the measurements you gave referring to the neck size? Thanks in advance! :c)
Donna
01-02-2011, 08:29 AM
#26
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Arizona
Posts: 1,134
Originally Posted by DonnaFreak
Originally Posted by Yarn or Fabric
If you are looking for a quilting machine, I would suggest saving up a little more or looking for at least a 9" harped machine. You will be trading one 6" for another 6".
From what I have seen, the "quilting machines" sold just include some extra feet for quilting and whatnot. You are really going to want more neck room for maneuvering quilts. You might score one on Craigslist or from a dealer used as a trade in :)
From what I have seen, the "quilting machines" sold just include some extra feet for quilting and whatnot. You are really going to want more neck room for maneuvering quilts. You might score one on Craigslist or from a dealer used as a trade in :)
Could you please explain the first part of your reply to me? what is a "harped machine"? Is the measurements you gave referring to the neck size? Thanks in advance! :c)
Donna
Don't rule out a used machine from a dealer just yet. Most will offer some sort of warranty and even free lessons, and the machines have usually been checked out before being put on sale.
Also, you don't mention which Singer models you have bought in the past. The older models, such as the 201, 301, 401, 501 etc., are wonderful machines. These are real workhorses and can often be picked up pretty cheaply.
01-02-2011, 08:42 AM
#27
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 848
When I first started sewing a couple years ago I too bought a Brother machine from Walmart. Brought it back in the first week...and headed to our local sewing shop to buy a Brother that came with a service package and warrantee that was going to be local.
I fell in love with Brother machines at that point and wouldn't by anything but Brother.
Now The Brother CS6000i is a mcahine that our local shop had a few years ago...and Walmart carries them now. I think I would take the risk with that one because it seems to me that it simply went our of style...with the rest of the project runways...
so you might get a good machine for your dollar with that one. I am not sure though....
I do know that Amazon has a good sale on The Brother CS6000i right now...
I fell in love with Brother machines at that point and wouldn't by anything but Brother.
Now The Brother CS6000i is a mcahine that our local shop had a few years ago...and Walmart carries them now. I think I would take the risk with that one because it seems to me that it simply went our of style...with the rest of the project runways...
so you might get a good machine for your dollar with that one. I am not sure though....
I do know that Amazon has a good sale on The Brother CS6000i right now...
01-02-2011, 08:56 AM
#28
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Location: SW Iowa
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My first machine was a Brother from Wal Mart. That little baby worked great for me. It was a Black Friday machine that DD got for a song. It is still my backup machine. But........do check out your local dealers for used machines. I got a Pfaff that was being replaced by a newer model for a great price. I love it.
01-02-2011, 09:35 AM
#29
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Go to your local sewing machine dealership and tell them you've been shafted in buying a used machine before, so to give you a good one;> They'll have a good machine to get you started, that will get you going in the right direction.
01-02-2011, 09:39 AM
#30
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Central KS
Posts: 169
My daughter has the same problem when buying a Singer at WalMart think maybe they buy seconds and sell them my Singer dealer tried to fix her machine and it wouldn't hold up so I am like the others think its best to go to a regular dealer, I have had Brother's I like them very much.
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