littledentist

Hi everyone. I am wondering who has this machine and how they feel about it. I have a Bernina 350 PE, and it's been great. I think it does everything I need to minus quilting large projects (which I use another machine for). I'm not sure it's worth it to upgrade if I'm not using it for quilting. The only advantages would be the large bobbin, more decorative stitches, and the dual feed (which I'm not sure is necessary for piecing but I have never used it and am not sure what I'm missing). Tula's new 570 looks so cute but I'm not sure I can justify that money for dual feed, large bobbins and cute decorative stitches. Am I missing something? Is the dual feed really all that fabulous? I've also heard about this serpentine stitch which I don't think I have on the 350. All thoughts welcome.

FWLover

I have a Bernina 880 which has been upgraded to a plus. The dual feed helps when I am putting rows together or when I am creating a block which has lot of sub units that need the seams to come together accurately. The feeding piece that fits into the center at the back of the foot meets a feed dog underneath kind of like a walking foot. It keeps 2 layers of fabric feeding thru evenly. And I have mostly purchased feet that accommodate the dual feed. However, I did find when chain piecing if I didn’t keep the pieces pretty close together so there wasn’t too long a thread chain in between the dual feed piece comes down onto the feed dog and cuts my top thread. But I love it for the things I mentioned.

I recently learned the walking foot is designed for when you have batting between the 2 fabrics. I have gone back to using it when attaching binding and find that worked much better for that process.

Your choice probably depends on the type of piecing you enjoy. If you are like me and seek out complex patterns or your own designs are very detailed and accurate matching of seems and not cutting off points is really important to you and then the dual feed will make your quilting experience more enjoyable. If that doesn’t describe the type piecing you enjoy, it may not make that much difference for you. I love mine and keep learning and thinking of new things to do with it all the time. So upgrading may give you opportunities to try something new. If you decide to upgrade I would suggest going for the best model you can afford so you can try new things. At age of 70 and a lot of different machines under my belt I have never regretted an upgrade. This will be the last machine I ever own and as I wrote in another post I will take it to my deathbed and no one can take it til they pry it from my cold dead hands. That said I can also be very content chain piecing the simple parts of blocks on my trusty featherweight.

littledentist

Thank you so much for your response. Yes I want to improve my piecing and I really haven’t been able to determine if the dual feed would help or not. I feel like there are a bunch of factors that determine how accurate your piecing is but I’m curious as to how it goes for others. Like I did a bunch of squares for a simple quilt and you’d think it would be so easy but some of the squares must have been crossgrain or straight grain mixed bc I had a hard time getting them to match up. Maybe I should have pulled each one of the fabric squares so I’d know which way is correct. But I digress...

In any event, I love to hear if the dual feed and better machines have helped improve your final products and experience of putting quilts together.

littledentist

Maybe I’m just flat out wondering if dual feed or accufeed is really necessary in doing good piecing. 🤔

jmoore

I love the dual feed on my 770 for piecing...I can certainly notice the difference in how my fabric moves under the presser foot if I don’t have the dual feed engaged. I find that I don’t need to pin nearly as much as I used to on a different machine and when nesting my seems, they don’t flip in the wrong direction. I guess it depends on how much you want to spend to upgrade. I do like the larger bobbin and low bobbin indicator as well as the the hook system.

SusieQOH

I just bought the 770 so I could use it for FMQ and other things like the large bobbins, dual feed, BSR, and features my 150 doesn't have. I love that machine. The only reason I didn't buy the 570 was the throat space.
I love both my Berninas. They are fabulous machines.

The Quilted Cottage

I don't have that machine but it does look sweet! I have a 750 and I really haven't found that the dual feed has made any difference in better piecing. I do find using the straight stitch needle plate and a microtex or topstitch needle gives great results., plus good thread such as Aurofil or Superior, 50 wt.

But I do love the dual feed and use it regularly. I always use it for attaching binding and straight line quilting. I never bought the walking foot for my machine and haven't needed it. I mostly use Quilters Dream cotton, but sometimes use a higher loft. No problems with the dual feed quilting all layers without tucks or skipped stitches. Love the large bobbin, too, and the bsr.

Good luck with your decision!

Di

quiltedsunshine

A couple other thing the 570 can do are, use the Bernina Stitch Regulator and do machine embroidery. You can buy the machine with or without the embroidery module. So you can add it later if you want it. The 350 can't use either.

The Walking Foot (that came with your 350) is much better than the dual feed.

littledentist

Thanks for the comments everyone! I decided to take the plunge and upgrade to a sit down midarm over the 570/770. I can’t really justify upgrading both but gosh, those Tula machines are really cute. Alas, unlimited harp space takes priority over bsr, dual feed, big bobbins, decorative stitches and embroidery. I mean you have to pick your battles, right? A girl can dream...

Doggramma

I recently went to a Tula Pink event where they were pushing Tula’s 770 and 570. I already have a 820, but I really really wanted the 770 because it looked so cool and has Tula’s special embroidery stitches. But I don’t think I’d use the unicorn stitch enough to get my $5100 out of it..... but it was so tempting.