Home quilting machine?

[Jlhoeting]

Hi, I'm a newbie here...and fairly new to quilting. I'm thinking about getting a home quilting machine but I am clueless where to begin or which features to look for. Any advice?

[buckeyequilter]

Hi and welcome to the forum

I have the Brother PQ1500. When I was looking for one I started researching on line at - All Brands, Sewing Machines Plus and the manufacturer's websites. There are some shops that sell machines and let you test drive them - you might want to try that. Good luck in your search. One of the important features for me on a sewing machine is the speed control, I didn't realize that would be an important feature when I bought my Brother so I later purchased a speed control that plugs in to my machine.

[krystikwilts]

There are a lot of great machines out there and we each have our own preference. Try out whatever models you are interested in to see which YOU like best, and which ones have the features you are looking for. Also, sometimes the dealer will help you make a decision if they are not knowledgeable or able to answer your questions or if they have to ship off your machine to have serviced, etc. When I was looking for my new machine, I was also told by several people to buy the most machine you can, because you will grow with it. I recently purchased a Viking Tribute 140C, and LOVE it! It has needle/up down, auto threader, auto thread cutter, drop down feed dog button, you can wind bobbin while machine is threaded, drop down bobbin; extra large throat space (I THINK 10"), sensor foot has extra lift, sensor foot automatically goes down when you start sewing if you wish, a "fix" button that locks stitch at beginning and/or end,sewing advisor which sets best stitch; stitch length, width, sewing speed and sensor foot pressure for selected fabric/sewing technique--just to name a few of the cool features. See what works for you and ENJOY!!!

[Jean Sewing Machine]

If you want another option, look at Janome 7700, has many, many bells and whistles ( same as Viking mentioned above,)has an 11" throat space, i've quilted queen quilts easily. Has hundreds of stitches. If you have absolutely thousands of dollars to spend, the Janome 12000 has every bell and whistl you can tink of, it is an embroidery machine and quilter.

You might want to look at the sit down longarms if you want a machine that only quilts, i think HandiQuilter and Tin Lizzie have them, I know others do, also, just don't know all the names. People get these when they want to do their own quilting, but don't have room for a longarm and frame.

[Donna F]

This is a good post. If I were to shop for a long arm I cannot stand for long so definately a sit down model, and I can't push or pull a heavy weight. What are your recommendations?

[Jean Sewing Machine]

This is a good post. If I were to shop for a long arm I cannot stand for long so definately a sit down model, and I can't push or pull a heavy weight. What are your recommendations?

Forum member Denis has a lot of experience and has done tons of research on all types of quilting machines. Hope he will see this post and share his expertise. Or perhaps you could PM him for specific questions.