LRM

Thanks everyone for your responses!! This is such helpful information. I appreciate you sharing your experiences with various machines. Looks like my next step is to test drive the machines to see if I especially like one. Thanks again!

Iona D.

I would vote for "it depends" train of thought. 99% of the time I construct the quilt in smaller sections rather than one whole unit. I plan then go ahead with the assembly of the quilt. I do this for any size of quilt, but it seems to work for the largest bed quilts the best.

If I had a choice, I would go for the largest throat space that fits my sewing area. And keep my other machines for what they seem to do the best. Not an ideal world, but what is?

Claire123

In my opinion, yes. For quilting you will need space unless everything you make is very small.

sewbizgirl

To answer the original question: Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! It makes a huge difference to have more space and visibility.

Sewsewgirl

I would love to have a Bernina 830 for the large throat area. But I’ve heard some people have tension and thread problems with both the 820 and 830. Does anyone have one of these machines? What kind of problems come with them.
Another thing, the pre-owned machines always have a lot of stitches listed on there screen. I have seen 8- 12 million.
How many is to many stitches for a pre-owned machine.

juliasb

IMHO the more throat space the better! Since I do a lot of FMQ I want to be able to move freely and not have any more quilt balled up on the machine than necessary. I too have a single stitch machine that is wonderful for any quilting. I wouldn't trade that baby when quilting for anything.

QuiltnNan

The problem I see with the Berninas for FMQ is the viewing area. The machine is thick at the top of the throat area, limiting viewing space. My Juki is about the same throat area but is a much taller space. JMHO

SusieQOH

What Nan says is true. I have a Juki 2010Q and a Bernina 770QE. While I love my new Bernina, the computer takes away some of the height.
But I'm super happy with both.

Patricia Drew

The width of the harp is important, but so is the height, in my opinion. Some machines will offer 12 in. to the right of the needle, but only 4.5 inches in height. I have the Juki TL2010Q, and the harp height is 6 in. Visibility is great, and so is ease of handling the quilt.

Bags

With my limited sewing experience, larger harp/throat space makes sewing on any project so much easier. I had a Bernina B215 that I've been using for 7-8 years. I really struggled with large projects, to the point where I didn't want to finish the project. Simple queen size quilts, thick, bulky bags, etc.

After joining this group and asking advice, I bought a Brother 1500. I absolutely love it. The harp space being wider and taller has made my sewing so much more enjoyable. I've been having so much fun with it. (I have also started to dabble in FMQ, never thought of doing that before).

I bought my Brother through Walmart for $479 a couple weeks before Christmas. Amazon had it for the same price. Good Luck and have fun!