I am looking to buy a better sewing machine (not a long arm) to do free motion quilting. I know it can be done on just about any regular machine but I'd like to know what you all use. I currently have a Brother cs6000i which sews just fine but the throat space is too small for a large quilt to pass. Even on small quilts I've settled on doing just straight lines. Tell me everything from top of the line machines to budget friendly.

I have a Bernina 430. It has a few inches more than the machine you have, and also is taller in the throat, but is not exceptionally large compared to some machines.

I can get an entire twin size quilt into it- with only a small amount of effort - to quilt all the way on the far side (I quilt better pushing away than pulling towards me, so I prefer not to have to go from the middle and do one side upside down.) Quilting from the middle of a twin is no problem at all, I imagine a queen won't be either. I don't think there is anyway I can get an entire queen in there though. I think a king will be doable, but hard.

It is by no means a budget machine, but it was $1000 less than the other machine I was looking at (Janome 7700). I prefered the Bernina's sewing to the Janome's, though the space of the Janome was to die for (to get that kind of space in a Bernina it is BIG BIG BIG bucks). I also think the Janome has much better memory capacity than my machine. My machine does embroidery, and the dealer threw that in free, but I'm not sure what I'll use it for. Still, it is nice to have an additional feature. The Janome was sewing only. Bernina accessories are expensive, but I found the ones I wanted for Janome were too- the Janome comes with a lot more feet though, so you won't need to buy as many. The Bernina comes with a darning/FMQ foot, but I bought an open toed one, as that is my preference. The walking foot for this machine is $$$.


I was using a sewing machine similar to the one you have, and found that it wasn't worth upgrading if I didn't spend at least $2000. The machines in the $800-1200 range just didn't offer enough to bother, I might as well just have stuck with what I had, instead I decided to make the jump to an expensive machine.


Also- while I had done some practice FMQ on my mass market machine (Kenmore 16221), I had lots of tension problems, and eyelashes, but not bad for a beginner. These all instantly fixed themselves on my Bernina. Now my only problem is keeping the stitch length consistent. Of course, if you get the 440 it comes with the Bernina Stitch Regulator, which was amazing to play with, but too much money for me. (It also doesn't draw the lines for you, and really, more than anything, it is the drawing that I have problems with. My whiteboard gets a lot of practice before I take a design to the quilt.)

HQ Sweet Sixteen sit down. I still move the quilt under the needle, but I have all that delicious throat space. I love it.

Mine is very budget - a $60 Singer 301. So far I've not done anything larger than a twin, but I think I could do a queen if I wanted to.

Sapphire 850, it has a bigger throat.

I have a Juki TL98Q that I LOVE for FMQ as well as piecing. The throat space on this one is around 9 inches, I believe, and I've done several queen-sized quilts on it. There is a picture of it on a queen-size that I recently finished here: http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-162730-1.htm

There's a newer model out now, but basically the same machine. I love the thread cutter and use it constantly when piecing. This machine only does a straight stitch, and does it VERY well!

i love my viking sapphire835! lg throat room,lots fancy stitches when i want them.only had it since june &haven't had time to sew much,but the price was reasonable[$1250] but they threw ins $150 ext.table,$75.00 foot,& 2 free2hr lessons ,so i was very satisfied.
good luck in your search,& as i'm sure everyone else will tell you ,test-drive before you buy!!!
dar

Singer 401A slant-o-matic

Bernina 440 QE. Love it.

I have an old Bernina 150 Quilters Edition that I bought used for $600. Love it! If money were no option, I'd buy the new Bernina 4 series with the FMQ Stitch Regulator.