Candace

Go to your nearest dealer, as was suggested to see what's available. Then, do your research.

yweinst

I love my janome. I have the 7700.

Sally J

My best suggestion is to get a machine with at least a 10-11 inch throat. I've been FMQ for years on a Viking D1 and I love it but the smaller throat makes it hard with larger quilts. I just bought a Janome 8200 (brand new model). Has a 11 inch throat, wow, it makes it so easy.
I agree, you need to go to as many dealers that you can in your area. You really need to get locally so if there are problems you can have it taken care of easily. Take you own fabric to use as a test and even the thread you usually use and really take them for a test drive. A long test drive!!!!! Everyone has different wants and you need to get a perfect match. Good luck. Remember, negotiate the price (just like buying a car) you will get a better price.

trennag

I have a brother sq9000 and used it for years for quilting and loved it! It was $200 at walmart and i have never had a problem. It also came with all the quilting feet you need. Its the sq9050 now... same machine with more stitches. I recently got a baby lock symphony and its amazing! I would go to different dealers near you and test drive machines... you will find what works best for you! Have fun!!!

MadQuilter

My favorite is the Baby Lock Symphonie but I know that Janome users are very loyal to their machines. My advice is to identify the MUST HAVE features and then go test drive.

Prism99

I think it's important to establish your price range first, and then the features that are ***really*** important to you. For quilting, one of those features might be a larger harp size. Other often-cited ones for quilting are needle-down and auto-cut. Vikings have an auto-lift feature that sounds absolutely wonderful for machine applique.

One of my most important features, that I don't often see mentioned, is the quietness of the machine. My Bernina 1230 just hums; I would not be happy with a machine that clanks or whistles! But that's me

Try out as many different machine brands as possible. Because quilting is important to you, prepare some 3-layer sandwiches to take with you so you can try out quilting on each machine. Also, bring some strips of your own fabric to piece together. This helps you assess how straight fabric feeds and how good the stitch looks. Dealerships supply you with fabric that has been starched to the hilt because stiff fabrics hide a lot of minor flaws in stitch quality.

Sewing machines are like cars. The "feel" of different brands is different, and everyone has a different idea of what's important.

Edit: State fairs and quilt guild shows are often good places to go to "test drive" different machines. Also, fair and show prices are often the lowest prices you can get from local dealerships.

AliKat

I totally agree with Prism99. Get your mind around the 'needs' but do keep a list of 'wants.' Machines demo'd at quilt shows and such are nicely discounted after the show. Just approach the dealer asap and let them know what you want and can pay.

Try all machines that have good dealer accessibility and classes or help with learning ... and re-learning.

Go with whatever machine YOU bond with. By bond with, I mean the one you can most intuitively understand and operate. I had the opportunity years ago with a Bernina but that model had a little glass like area to show which stitch I was using. Well, I had little kids and a neighborhood of many more. I knew I was easily distractable and that I wouldn't get the stitch I wanted if the kids distracted me. I went with a used Singer where I knew what stitch I was selecting immediately and as that was pretty much all that was available to me at the time.

I've tried them all. I'm a Pfaff person because it had the dual feed that kept me sewing/quilting due to my arthritis.

reginalovesfabric

I have a singer/gammill long arm that I bought second hand. It cost my brother $1200 and it's on a 14' frame.
I have quilted many many quilts since 2006. I don't know how to quilt on a small machine.

Got this one from a quilt shop in north Mississippi, if you have a quilt shop call them they may have one someone traded in

nygal

All of my machines are Brother and I love them all. I've purchased mine from www.allbrands.com
They have FREE shipping and they are a Brother dealer and their shipping is super fast!!

Shelbie

There are no perfect machines out there so it means that you need to try them out and get the best match for you. Many here recommend Janome machines but my Janome 6500 was the most expensive, worst machine that I every owned. I now have a Juki TL98Q that I bought slightly used from a guild member for a quarter of the price I paid for the Janome and it is an absolutely wonderful machine for quilting. Good luck making this important decision.