Be prepared....This is a LONG post but I hope will be informative to some!
I've noticed some recent posts about the Accuquilt GO and fabric cutters in general and thought I would give my two cents on the issue. If you had asked me 3 months ago I would have been in the camp that said fabric cutters were time consuming, wasteful, limited in their practical use and TOO EXPENSIVE! One thing I have learned though, is NEVER say NEVER! :)
Sometime this Spring one of our ladies here made a post that included a link to some of Patsy Thompson's quilting tutorials. (She is a great teacher and quilter and worth checking out her YouTube tutorials) Anyway, I was checking out her videos one day and happened upon this one that started me on my Big Shot obsession:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok4DR1d3UUc
After seeing her enthusiasm for the Big Shot and realizing that the initial cost for the cutter and a few simple dies was about 1/4 the cost of an Accuquilt system I took the leap and purchased a Big Shot from Amazon.com ($59 + free shipping)
I then started buying some of the Sizzix dies, quickly learning which ones were designed to fit the Big Shot. Accuquilt dies can retail in the general range of $25-$80 each with an occas 20% off sale at Joann's. Big Shot dies retail from $10-$25 each but early on I discovered the Sizzix.com website and their wonderful Outlet Store which is now about the only place I buy dies except the occasional good deal on Ebay. If you are willing to wait for a die to go to the outlet store you can end up paying anywhere from $1.99 - $7.99 for brand new Sizzix dies.
As Patsy Thompson's video shows, by using her technique of fusing strips of fabric in advance and then cutting pieces to just the size you need to fit your die shape, you can reduce your fabric waste to almost nothing. Any small scraps I end up with of fused fabric, I throw into a ziplock bag to save for future projects where I might need just a small shape for applique. It already will have the fusible on it and be ready to go!
Here is some additional info you need to know if you are considering a Big Shot. The original Sizzix die cutting system was created primarily for paper crafting so some of the dies may not be suitable for fabric applique or quilt shapes. However there are many Sizzix dies that say specifically they will cut fabric, foam and other thicker materials. These include all the Original Sizzix dies in Large (red) Medium (yellow) and small (green) sizes. (these dies are plentiful on Ebay and the Outlet store but harder to find in retail stores) It also includes all the BigZ dies which are the slightly larger dies created specifically for the Big Shot. You can also use the new BigZ Pro dies that are longer and made for the new Big Shot Pro cutter as long as you purchase the extended cutting pads to fit the longer dies.
The Sizzix dies that will NOT work with fabric are the Sizzlets and some of the embossing, texturizing dies which work only with paper crafting.
Until recently Sizzix dies were not designed specifically for fabric or quilting shapes. There is new interest building in the quilt community, however, and Westminster Fabrics has partnered with Sizzix to create quilt specific die shapes ie. circles, triangles, half-square triangles, drunkards path etc. These dies are designed for the Big Shot Pro system and are more expensive, along lines similar to the Accuquilt Go. If you have the original Big Shot and the extended size cutting pads, you can still use these new dies as long as they are no more than 6" wide. (much cheaper than buying the Big Shot Pro cutter to use those dies) Check out some of the new shapes available here:
http://www.sizzix.com/catalog?submit...es&per_page=24
At this point, my interest in the Big Shot is strictly for unique applique shapes that I would have a hard time cutting out the traditional way with scissors or rotary cutters. I am not yet willing to invest in the more expensive quilting shape dies or larger cutter systems since I think basic quilt shapes are very doable using our rotary cutters and multiple fabric layers. My excitement about the Big Shot is more for the applique options and advantages it offers.
I am still new to the Big Shot applique process, but having a lot of fun learning and exploring all the ways I can incorporate the shapes into my quilt projects. Here are some of the projects I am working on now: (Click on the images to get a larger view)
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I used a large leaf die and a curly cue die to create this 40" x 22" wall hanging. I free motion quilted around the leaves and curly cues plus used stitch in the ditch around all the seams. Still need to do the binding but then it will be finished
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These are 5" charm square sandwiches I used for practicing my applique and free motion quilting designs. The appliques were all cut using the Big Shot dies. A fun way to practice new techniques without using too many material resources. I may end up making hot pads or placemats out of them!
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This is a very basic block I made by cutting the blue design using my Big Shot dies and fusing to a 10" black layer cake sheet. It would be very easy to make a quick appliqued quilt using a variety of fabric prints, shapes and colors, fuse them to the layer cake sheets and use decorative stitching and quilting to finish them off!
ONE day I hope to be as good as Patsy Thompson and create some of the wonderful appliqued quilts she shows on her Blog. The four images below are all the work of Patsy Thompson. She has now created her own custom dies to be used on the Big Shot system and sells them on her commercial website along with many other quilting products and accessories. She has created some beautiful dies!
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You will find tons of good advice and technique tips for using the Sizzix Big Shot cutter in your quilt projects at her Blog here:
http://www.patsythompsondesigns.com/blog/
Hopefully, this information will be helpful to a few who are toying with the idea of getting into fabric cutter systems. I am very happy with my decision so far and see endless options for using these cut shapes in my quilts!
P.S. here is a pic of the actual Big Shot cutter and some Sizzix dies I bought from the Outlet store:
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