Quiltermelanie

I’ve been thinking about a (used) sit down longarm machine for a long time. For a long while I was thinking about an innova, but in talking with friends, it sounds like the HQ sweet 16 is a pretty great machine at a significantly better price point. Recently, though, I have come across a baby lock tiara II still in its box. I’ve been told that they are one and the same. That the Tiara II is made by HQ for baby lock. Can you readers give me some insights? Excited about FINALLY having a wide throat for quilting!

QuiltE

Yes, the Tiara and Sweet 16 are virtually one and the same, and yes, both are made in the same factory by HQ.

However, where they may not be equal is which version they are. Over the years, there have been several updates, so the two you are considering are they the same update? or different?

Looks like it could be a nice Christmas gift to yourself!!
Good Luck in your quest!

Quiltermelanie

so… there’s only one machine, it’s the baby lock Tiara II. I have friends who have used the sweet 16 and raved about it, so I wanted to be sure they were one and the same.
That said, the tiara II has been sitting in its box since 2015. So guessing not updated at all. I need to figure out how/where to update and figured I’d call babylock directly.

QuiltE

Best to get the serial # for the machine, as that way you can know for sure what options it has. Being called "Tiara II" I am thinking it is the 2nd version.

You really need to know what features this machine offers, and what other possibilities are out there, whether HQ or Tiara. Online you can get the spec info for the current models, to identify what features are important to you, whether it be this machine or another one you come across.

Have you given one a test drive either at a dealer or at your friends' homes? Not wanting to discourage you, but you really do need to find out if it is for you. Ask your friends what features theirs have, and what they wish they had, and what would be a deal breaker should a machine not have it. They should be able you

And of course, the importance of comparing prices. An old not-out-of-the-box machine may or may not be a great deal. Also, keep in mind warranty (or not, when it would be 2nd hand) and who would be servicing your machine once you have it.

Good Luck!

sewingpup

I am all for checking out the warranty and the tech services in your area. If it is a significant amount of money, I actually prefer to pay for the newest one with a warranty especially if there are computer components.

Quiltermelanie

Thanks for your helpful comments - I see the babylock support website requires a serial number so will try to get that.

rryder

I bought a used HQ Sweet Sixteen back in 2018- it's been a great quilter for me. I had spent several years trying out all the sit down quilters at the various quilt shows and had decided on several that I knew I'd be happy with. The Sweet Sixteen and the Babylock Tiara are basically the same machine and both were at the top of my list along with the Innova , the Juki and also the APQS George. It just happened that a used Sweet Sixteen in my budget showed up first.

I've not had any trouble with my Sweet Sixteen and have put over 8 million stitches on it since I got it. There's not much to go wrong with these machines and they're meant to go for many millions of stitches like the longarms in HQ's lineup. Unless it's a very early model, the Babylock will probably have most of the current bells and whistles, and is likely compatible with the new Insight stitch regulator table which is much better than the old true stitch tag along regulator. If you can try it out before making the final purchase, that would be great.

If you are buying it off of eBay, ask questions through the platform about whether it is working properly, why the person is selling it, has it ever been dropped, etc. And if possible ask them to make a short video showing it stitching. And get them to give you images showing the touch screens so you can see number of stitches on it, the software and firmware numbers and make sure all the touch screens work. If you ask those kinds of questions through the eBay platform and they answer on the platform that information becomes part of the ad and is helpful in getting problems resolved should any arise.

Rob

Quiltermelanie

I went to go test drive whatever baby lock sit down they had at our local store to see how I felt about baby lock. They had a Regent, BLRT18. It’s the floor model, and they are selling it for 5k. (List 8k, they said.) It felt sturdy, and it seems like a good price. Stitch regulator and bobbin winder included. Any dramatic opinions out there? Previously I was looking at the Tiara II (2015, but still in box) with an older stitch regulator.